New Delhi: Uttarakhand Governor Gurmit Singh on Monday said that reason behind the bus accident that claimed 26 lives in the state will be inquired, and lessons will be taken from the incident as the safety of pilgrims is the priority of the state government. Singh made his statement after a short meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his office. The Governor also assured of adopting a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to avoid such kinds of road accidents. "Lesson will be taken from the accident. We will check minutely about the reason behind the incident and a robust SOP will be prepared. This will define our responsibility so that similar incidents do not occur in future as the safety of pilgrims is the most important part for us. It is a very sad incident," Singh told ANI after meeting Amit Shah.
The family members of those who lost their lives in the accident will be helped in all ways, added Singh when asked if kin of the deceased and victims will be taken care of. "This is our priority to keep the safety of pilgrims. Almost 16.5 lakh pilgrims have already come on Chaar Dhaam Yatra. A record will be broken this year certainly." Twenty-six people were killed and four others injured after the bus carrying pilgrims from Panna district in Madhya Pradesh fell into a deep gorge en route to the Yamunotri temple in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Sunday, according to officials.
Besides the driver and the helper, there were 28 passengers on board.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with state minister Bijendra Pratap Singh, Director General of Police Sudhir Saxena and other senior officials had left for Dehradun on Sunday night. The MP Home Department had also issued a list of 28 passengers from Panna who were travelling in the ill-fated bus. After reaching Uttarakhand, Chouhan met the injured persons and reviewed the arrangements for their treatment. The CM had on Sunday announced that Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the kin of those killed in the bus accident and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.—ANI