Kin of Araku Valley accident victims blame politicians for delay in reaching loved ones 

HYDERABAD: It has been nearly 18 hours since at least four family members including an 8-month-old toddler from the Shaikpet area in the city were killed and 23 others injured after a bus fell into a 300-feet deep gorge in Araku Valley's Dumuku Ghat Road in Anantagiri Mandal of Visakhapatnam on Friday evening. But none of the family members could reach their loved ones battling for their lives at a government hospital in Vishakapatnam.

"We still haven't heard from our family," said Patel Singham, a relative of the victims. "We were about to leave for Visakhapatnam on Friday night itself, but the politicians who visited our home stopped us. They said the government would immediately arrange flights for us."  

Legislator Maganti Gopinath visited their home and said he would arrange the next flight, paying all the expenses, the relative said. "The next flight was at 5 am on Friday, but we couldn't board because we had no tickets. We had to miss another flight in the morning. Finally, tickets for four members of the family were booked for the 2:50 pm flight. They will still have to travel for four to five hours from the Vishakapatnam airport to reach the hospital where the mobile network is unavailable," he added.

"We only know from the news that some of our family members are alive. We are constantly watching TV to spot our family members to see how they are. According to the TV reports, eight of the members in the family are in critical condition with head and chest injuries," another relative K Prabhakar, whose wife was injured in the accident, said.

"We could have reached there if the politicians didn't confuse us. They make promises but fail to fulfil them. Although they have paid their condolences, it is not helping us and the victims who are fighting for their lives in the hospital. We want them to be responsible and help us reach our family immediately," added the family member.

According to relatives, most of the accident victims are women and children from the same family.