May 31st 2024.
In the city of Jammu, a tragic bus accident shook the entire region. As a result, six officials from the transport department were suspended from their duties on Friday. This came after 22 individuals lost their lives and 64 were injured in the accident that took place in the Jammu district on Thursday. The bus was carrying 86 devotees from Haryana's Kurukshetra, who were on their way to the Shiv Khori shrine in the neighboring district of Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the bus skidded off the Jammu-Poonch highway and fell into a 150-foot gorge. It was reported that the driver lost control of the vehicle while navigating a blind curve at Tungi morh in the Chowki Chora area.
After a high-level meeting chaired by Principal Secretary of the Home department Chandraker Bharti, the transport department Secretary Niraj Kumar ordered the suspensions and an investigation into the matter. "Pending enquiry into the conduct and dereliction of duties, officials posted in the Regional Transport Office in Kathua are placed under suspension with immediate effect and are attached in the office of Transport Commissioner, Jammu," Kumar stated in an official order. The suspended officials are Ranjeev Bhasin, Sumit Magotra, and multi-tasking staff members Ashwani Kumar, Aman Kumar, Keshav Singh, and Rakesh Kumar. The inquiry into their conduct and performance will be led by Additional Secretary Paramvir Singh, who is expected to submit a report with recommendations within a week. Until then, the officials have been attached to the transport commissioner's office in Jammu.
Meanwhile, the district administration has also initiated a magisterial inquiry into the incident, with the report expected to be submitted within seven days. Additionally, the authorities are closely monitoring the treatment of the injured individuals, while also staying in touch with the families of the passengers from their home regions of Hathras and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. According to Deputy Commissioner of Jammu Sachin Kumar, the injured are receiving treatment at the Government Medical College hospital. In order to assist the relatives of the victims, the Jammu administration has set up a 24-hour helpline.
In the wake of this tragic accident, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured. While some injured passengers claim that the accident occurred due to a speeding car approaching from the opposite direction, others have blamed the driver for overloading the bus. This incident is the deadliest in the region since a similar one back in November of 2023 in Doda district, where 39 people lost their lives and 19 were injured when a bus fell into a 300-foot gorge. The authorities are determined to get to the bottom of this tragedy and ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
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