The private bus heading to Pavagada not only had people heading to work, but also many students.
Many of the injured students, some of whom have sustained multiple fractures, are worried about their board examinations and have appealed to the Government to make concessions. While the Class X SSLC exam is scheduled to begin at the end of the month, the ii PU exams will commence on April 22.
At Tumakuru district hospital, eight students [two girls and six boys] are in pre-university colleges and worried about their academic future. “They have been discussing their apprehensions about the examination. Among the two girls, one suffered a non-displaced fracture and the other fractured her clavicle. Though they are on the mend, it will take them six weeks to recover. The boys have tissue-related injuries,” district surgeon Veerabhadraiah said.
The families of injured passengers, who were shifted to Bengaluru, are struggling to pay their medical bills.
The parents of Mahendra, who is being treated for spinal injuries at a private hospital in the city, don’t know how they will pay the bills.
“We do odd jobs in our village. My son was shifted from Pavagada to Tumakuru and from there he was referred to Nimhans. But he was not admitted owing to a shortage of beds. We shifted him to a private hospital. We are told that his treatment would cost ₹10 lakh,” said the father, Sreenivas.
Later in the day, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters that the Government will bear the medical expenses of those injured in the accident. According to police records, eight passengers were discharged, while 45 are still in hospital.
Last rites conducted
The last rites of Amulya and Harshitha, who were killed in the accident, were performed at Potaganahalli village on Sunday. While Amulya died on the spot, Harshitha succumbed to injuries at Victoria Hospital.
Their younger brother was inconsolable. “They would get me snacks every day from the town. I would eat and play with my sisters, and now they are gone,” he said.
The sister of another deceased youth, Dadavali, said she had planned to go with her brother to school but she missed the bus. “I request the government to put more buses so that the people can commute and not die like this,” said the Class X student from Neelammanahalli.
Mr. Bommai on Sunday said that directions have been issued to identify buses that carry more than their capacity when educational institutions function. “We will cancel the licences of such buses. We have directed officials to increase surveillance on the routes where overcrowded buses are known to operate.”
