At whose fault does schoolgirl lose her life?
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: A ditch dug by workers for laying water pipelines under the Guwahati Jal Board near Ganesh Mandir in the Ganeshguri area of Guwahati turned out to be a deathtrap for a schoolgirl today. The workers left the ditch open without any barricades around it.
Guwahati has such ditches, be they for laying cables or water pipes, on almost all roads. What is even more serious is that such ditches remain open without any barricade around them for days. When they complete the repair work, they often do a shoddy job without restoring it to its original shape, and such spots do not remain motorable anymore. Today’s incident left the administration on its toes, ordering investigations and filing cases. Had the administration remained alert while digging such ditches and keeping them barricaded, today’s accident could have been averted.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister ordered the deputy commissioner to inquire into the incident and take stock of such ditches in Guwahati to take the necessary measures.
The accident occurred this morning when a girl, Kajal Kumari, was dropping off her younger sister, Priya Kumari, a class XI student at Little Flower School, Hatigaon. Priya Kumari was pillion-riding. When Kajal took the Dr. RP Road, crossing the Dispur Press Club and keeping left near the wall of the Assembly Secretariat, a school bus (AS01PC7411) was also going in the same direction on her right. When the girl rider saw the ditch open without any barricade, she fell on the road, probably while negotiating the ditch. And the worst happened. The rear wheel of the school bus ran over Priya Kumari.
Though the bus driver made an attempt to flee, Basistha Police seized the bus along with its driver.
Priya Kumari was the daughter of Dhaneshwar Panjiyar, hailing from Bihar and staying at Hengrabari in a rented house.
People gathered at the spot and created a situation. Dispur police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
Meanwhile, the Guwahati Jal Board filed an FIR against the construction company that dug out the ditch and left it without any barricades.
The irony is that after the accident, the police earth-filled the ditch in no time and kept it under a barricade.
Meanwhile, after the accident, the Kamrup (Metro) District Commissioner called a meeting to discuss the status of various construction projects going on in the city. The constructions include the projects of the Guwahati Jal Board.
District Commissioner Pallav Gopal Jha chaired the meeting, ordered immediate completion of the ongoing projects, and took action against the erring agencies. Contractors of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) engaged in the water supply projects, officials of the Transport Department, and traffic police attended the meeting.
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