At least 15 people, including seven women, were on Tuesday killed while 38 others seriously injured when a bus carrying a marriage party fell into a river from a bridge in Hoshangabad district.
Expressing grief Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a relief of Rs1.5 lakh each to the kin of deceased, Rs50,000 to those seriously injured and Rs25,000 to those who suffered minor injuries in the accident. District collector Sanket Bhondve and other senior officials reached the spot soon after the mishap to supervise the rescue operation. Further investigations are on, police said.
The tragedy has left Indore-based Verma family devastated after marriage celebration in the family just two days back. A pall of gloom has set in at Nehru Nagar of Indore, where the Verma family was residing. For the past four days, Verma family had been in a celebration mood after marriage of their daughter Jaya two days back on December 12.
The family had celebrated birth day of Omprakash Verma, the eldest member of the family and `Mahila sangeet’ programme of Jaya on December 11, while marriage of Jaya was solemnized on December 12. On December 14, marriage of the son of Omprakash Verma was fixed.
In the night of December 14, as many as 60 members of Omprakash Verma family left for Parasia to take part in the reception of Jaya on December 15, while four members of family remained in Indore to take care of their house.
Among those killed included mother of the bride, Omprakash Verma, the eldest member of the family and his wife Kaushalya. Bride’s father Santosh Verma also sustained injuries in the incident.
Verma family in Indore owns a marriage garden and a tent house. Only two days back, the family had decorated their house and the locality with colourful electric bulbs with carpet strewn in the lane. They had soleminzed marriage of Jaya with a groom from Chandameta in Chindwara district.
The mishap took place in the morning when the bus was heading towards Parasia from Indore, Sohagpur police station in-charge Siddharth Singh said.
“Fifteen people were killed in the mishap and 38 seriously injured. They were admitted in a private hospital at Bhopal and Hoshangabad respectively,” Hoshangabad division commissioner VK Batham told. The bus was crossing a river bridge near longabanjari village about 7 km away from Sohagpur when the incident happened.