The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Tuesday, July 11, 2000,
Chandigarh, India

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12 killed, 37 hurt in accidents
From Our Correspondent

CHAMBA, July 10 — Twelve persons were killed and 37 seriously injured in two separate accidents in HP. In the first accident a truck veered off the road and fell into a 60-metre-deep gorge at the Tissa bridge near Tissa township on the Chamba-Bairagarh highway, about 60 km from the district town of Chamba, today.

According to preliminary reports the truck was carrying around 50 persons, including men, women and children from the Tikri to a local fair known as ‘chhinj’ at Tissa today.

Official sources said the accident took place at around 11.30 a.m. when the vehicle which was overloaded failed to negotiate a curve.

The sources said four persons were killed on the spot, and four others washed away in the swollen Tissa nala. Of the injured, six were in critical condition and had been referred to the District Hospital, Chamba, while the rest were being given treatment at Tissa hospital.

As the Deputy Commissioner and the Superintendent of Police, Chamba, were out of station, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Chamba, Mr Ajay Sharma, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and a team of doctors and officials rushed to the accident site soon after receiving news of the accident.

Local residents and jawans of the security forces deployed in the area helped in rescue operations and search for dead bodies. So far, four of the victims have been identified. They are Man Dei, Banti, Tek Chand and Jhamper, all residents of Pahnauta.

The Himachal Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, and Governor Vishnu Kant Shastri also expressed sympathy with the bereaved families.

In another accident, a truck on its way from Dhamla to Delhi, fell into a 350-feet-deep gorge at Chane ka Nala, 8 km from Habban near Rajgarh, in Sirmaur district. Four persons died on the spot and two were injured in the accident.

The Additional District Magistrate, Sirmaur, Mr Vikas Labroo, said those killed included Jagrup, owner of the truck, driver Jaimal, both from Pakredi in Badsar tehsil, Mahender Singh of Padia, and Bhajju Ram of Dhamla. Balbir Singh of Dhamla, who was seriously injured, was later shifted to the IGMC, Shimla. Sanjeev Kumar conductor of the vehicle, received minor injuries.

The tehsildar of Rajgarh immediately rushed to the spot to supervise rescue and relief measures. A sum of Rs 10,000 was disbursed on the spot for relief.

Bridge on Yamuna sinks, traffic hit
From Ashwani Dutta

YAMUNANAGAR, July 10 — The main bridge on the Yamuna, which connects Haryana and Uttar Pradesh at Kalanaur, about 10 km from here, was damaged today due to heavy rain. Now the traffic was being diverted via Paonta Sahib and Karnal resulting in inconvenience to commuters.

A portion of the bridge measuring five feet sunk.

The bridge was constructed in 1951 by the Canal Foundry and Engineering Works, Roorkee. Officials of the Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation were informed about the cracks which had appeared on the bridge.

The engineers of the corporation had reportedly inspected the bridge and it was decided to start the repair work immediately. But before the work could be started the bridge got damaged.