The Minister of State of
Defence Production & Supplies Shri Harin Pathak visited
Joshimath today where a tourist bus carrying 32 people met with
a tragic accident near Vishnu Prayag on June 15, 2002. Immediately
on arrival at Joshimath, the Minister met the Army authorities
as ell as the district administrative officers in Joshimath.
The Minister went to the accident site and held discussions
with the rescue teams, including the naval divers who were sent
from Delhi to the accident site. The Minister was informed that
owing to the depth of the river (about 500 ft) and its strong
currents, the rescue teams were finding it tough to locate the
bodies. The Minister advised the rescue teams to speed up their
efforts.
The tragic accident occurred
when one of the tyres of the burst, and the speeding bus went
out of control and fell into the Alaknanda river. The bus was
coming from Badrinath en route to Joshimath. Of the 32
passengers, only six have so far survived. Thirty passengers
were from Gujarat (26) and the remaining six were from Uttaranchal
and Uttar Pradesh. Of the 26 Gujaratis, only four have been
rescued alive and the bodies of five deceased passengers have
been retrieved so far.
The last rites for
all the five deceased, were performed at the confluence of the
Alaknanda and the Dholi Ganga rivers in the presence of Shri
Pathak, Shri Gadhavi, MP from Kutch, Gujarat and senior officers
of the District administration.
The Minister met the bereaved
family members of the deceased passengers and expressed his
heart-felt condolences. Immediately after the cremation, the
Minister visited the Joshimath hospital and also met the injured
passengers and enquired after their welfare. He urged the hospital
authorities to provide the best medical treatment.
The Minister also met the
officials of the Gujarat Government, who have been deputed to
Joshimath, and advised them to extend financial and other assistance
to the families of the deceased and injured passengers.
