Eight dead, 11 hurt as pvt bus falls into canal in Muktsar district

Muktsar, September 19

Eight passengers, including five women, died and 11 others suffered injuries after an Amritsar-bound private bus fell into the Sirhind Feeder Canal near Jhabelwali village on the Muktsar-Kotkapura road reportedly due to rain and poor visibility this afternoon.

The NDRF team has started a search operation as several passengers are missing. The bus had left the Muktsar bus stand around 1 pm for Kotkapura and fell into the canal around 1:25 pm.

Pardeep Kumar, who escaped unhurt, said, “The bus was overloaded and was being rashly driven. Further, the visibility was poor due to the rain. After seeing a vehicle coming from an opposite direction, the driver suddenly applied brakes. First, the bus hit the railing of the bridge and then fell into the canal.”

Other passengers said, “The driver and conductor jumped from the bus and escaped from the spot. Some people standing near the bridge came to the rescue.”

Raja Singh of Warring village, who took part in the rescue operation, said, “The condition of the road and bridge is not satisfactory. The entire stretch was waterlogged.”

Muktsar SSP Harmanbir Singh Gill said around 40 passengers were rescued with the help of nearby villagers.

Deputy Commissioner Dr Ruhee Dugg said, “All eight deceased have been identified. Two of the 11 injured have been discharged from the Muktsar Civil Hospital. We have set up a control room to provide information related to the accident.”

Hardeep Singh Dimpy Dhillon, who is SAD’s Gidderbaha segment in-charge and a co-owner of the transport firm, said, “The visibility was poor due to the rain. A car moving ahead of the bus suddenly applied brakes, which led to the accident. The bus driver and conductor escaped with minor injuries.”

The deceased have been identified as Parvinder Kaur of Bathinda, Preeto Kaur of Muktsar, Amandeep Kaur of Faridkot, Makhan Singh of Fazilka, Balwinder Singh of Faridkot, Rajveer Kaur of Fazilka, Manjit Kaur and Raminder Singh of Sriganganagar, Rajasthan.

Uuncanny coincidence

Former ASI Teja Singh, a resident of Madhir village, said, “On the same day, 30 years ago, 85 people died when a roadways bus fell into the Rajasthan Feeder Canal, just a few metres from the spot. The ill-fated bus was heading to Muktsar from Jammu. I was the lone survivor.”

Road widening work in limbo

• The work on widening Muktsar-Kotkapura Road under the BOT scheme started in 2014, but failed to see the light of day
• The contractor has failed to construct new bridges on the Sirhind Feeder and Rajasthan Feeder canals on this stretch so far