Somanur tragedy victims seek govt aid

Coimbatore: Sixteen days after the Somanur bus stand tragedy in which five people lost their lives and 18 were injured, the victims continue to be neglected by the State government. Family members and relatives of the survivors staged a protest in front of a private hospital on Trichy Road on Saturday after hosptial authorities asked them to pay the bills.

Daily wage worker Narayanasamy, father of 20-year-old N Latha, said his daughter's leg had to be amputated. "She is a BSc Biochemistry student. She was a very good student. But, now she has lost a leg and her other leg needs surgery. We somehow arranged funds with the help of her friends and also took loans. Doctors here want her to undergo another surgery that will cost more than Rs 2 lakh. The government needs to look into this and help us. We are having a difficult time because of them," he told TOI.

Latha was discharged a week ago and the hospital charged the family Rs 3.3 lakh for the treatment. However, the government has only given a compensation of Rs 50,000, the father said.

"On the day of the tragedy, local administration minister SP Velumani, collector TN Hariharan and other officials, who arrived at the spot, promised us that cost of the entire treatment will be borne by the government. I am a daily wage worker. Even before I could reach the spot, my daughter was shifted to this private hospital," said Narayanasamy, a resident of Devarayampalayam.

Ninety-one-year-old Marappa Gounder had suffered a head injury and an injury on his leg in the accident, his grandson Nandakumar said. "He was returning after visiting his daughter when the accident occurred. The treatment cost is Rs 3.67 lakh. We have managed to pay only Rs 1.30 lakh with the help of our friends and relatives," he said and added that the family plans to petition the collector and other government officials.

The relatives of the victims sat on the road leading to the Richmond Hospital for more than six hours until 8.30pm. Prabhat Vivekandan, director of Richmond Hospital said he has not received any letter or documents from the government about who will pay for the medical care. "We did our best to save the lives of four victims. We have also provided a lot of discounts," he told TOI.

Government officials, including the collector, could not be reached.