The lone survivor of the tragic accident that claimed 14 lives on Monday in Uttarkashi district is battling for life at a private hospital in the city. Meenakshi, 14, sustained multiple injuries in spinal cord, liver and brain.
The accident occurred when a 22-seater passenger vehicle carrying 15 passengers, including the driver, was hit by boulders rolling down the hills in a landslide triggered by heavy rain on Monday afternoon. The vehicle was thrown off to a 200-metre gorge. Thirteen passengers in the bus died on the spot while two girls who fell off the vehicle before it went down the gorge were seriously injured. Of them, Radha, 13, died late at night, while Meenakshi, 14, was shifted to the capital.
“Her condition is critical and she is on ventilator. A group of specialists are trying their best to stabilise her condition. Her spinal cord is severely injured and wounds were reported in her liver and brain,” hospital sources said.
Nearly eight villages of Bhatwadi tehsil of Uttarkashi woke up to a mournful morning on Tuesday. Hundreds of people gathered at the mortuary from where bodies of deceased were taken to Kedar Ghat for last rites, which was performed collectively.
Meenakshi lost both her parents — Ramveer Singh, 45, and Sakla Devi, 40 — in the accident. They were residents of Bhakoli village.
Agitated locals alleged administrative negligence in not providing helicopter service to lift Radha, who died on way to hospital. A family lost five of its members while another lost two brothers in the accident.
Ashish Chauhan, district magistrate of Uttarkashi, said: “We have made arrangements at recurring spots, but this spot was new. Border Road Organisation (BRO) is deployed to avoid any further accident.” He said Rs 60 lakh have bene released for the kin of deceased from the Disaster Management Funds.
Several major accidents were reported on the Gangotri Highway in the recent past. In June 2017, an accident claimed 12 lives near Helgugad while in May 23 people died in Nalupani. In 2010, a truck fell into a gorge claiming 27 lives. In two separate incidents on the highway in 2009, 52 people were killed.
Prasanta Patnaik 
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