Tension at KGGH as mishap victims’ kin stage demo

KURNOOL: Tension prevailed at the mortuary of the Kurnool Government General Hospital (KGGH) for an hour, on Sunday, after relatives of  16 persons, who were killed in an accident, and social activists staged a protest demanding an ex gratia of RS 50 lakh per victim. A heated argument ensued between the agitators and the police.

The protest was called off and the bodies shifted after District Collector S Satyanarayana assured the victims’ families of all possible help from the government. The collector handed over RS 10,000 to families of each of the victim for burial expenses as immediate relief and promised RS 2 lakh as financial assistance. Earlier, the protesters demanded RS 50 lakh ex gratia and job for one family member of each of the victim. They also demanded that case be registered under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the bus driver and the travel organiser. YSRC Panyam MLA candidate Katasani Rambhupam Reddy, Pathikonda candidate K Sridevi and others joined the chorus and demanded that the government pay ex gratia.

Sixteen persons belonging to Ramapuram village, in Gadwala district of Telangana state, died in a ghastly road accident, at Veldurthi, on Saturday. The district authorities conducted a post-mortem examination at KGGH on Sunday. Before shifting the bodies to their native village to perform last rites, the family members of the deceased sought justice. MRPS founder Manda Krishna Madiga, Mala Mahanadu leader Mala Srinu and representatives of various people’s organisations and political parties, arrived at the mortuary and consoled the grieving kin and supported their protest.

Alampur MLA VM Abraham, former MP Manda Jagannatham and other political leaders from Telangana went to KGGH and consoled   familiesof the deceased  and promised financial support from the Telangana government. “Bus driver Joseph is in the custody of the Kurnool police who registered a case,” Dhone DSP Khadar Basha said.

Toll in Veldurthi mishap rises to 16

Kurnool: The death roll in the ghastly road accident at Veldurthi rose to 16, after one of the injured persons died while undergoing treatment at the Kurnool Government General Hospital in the small hours of Sunday. The deceased was identified as Venkatramudu, resident of Ramapuram village, in Vaddepalli mandal. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the hospital with grief-stricken families of the deceased along with hundreds of residents who gathered at the hospital. Some of the families had lost their breadwinners. Almost all the deceased were in the age group of 30 to 40 years. Out of the 16 deceased, Chintalaiah and his son Tikkanna died. The death of B Ed graduate Muniswami and newly-wed Suresh created tearful scenes. Villagers from Ramapuram and Santi Nagar and neighbouring villages from Jogulamba, Gadwal district, arrived in large numbers early on Sunday to have a look at the dead. Chinnayya, a villager of Ramapuram, said that they all went to Guntakal to fix a marriage alliance in two vehicles.