Volvo accident: CM Kiran announces Rs 1 lakh compensation

Hyderabad: Family members of the victims of the Palem Volvo bus accident got some relief from Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy who on Thursday sanctioned Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of victims.

This was the outcome of dharna by kin of the victims a few days before in front of the ministers’ quarters in protest against what they called inaction on the part of Transport Minister Botsa Satyanarayana.

Though the rules does not permit payment of ex gratia under the State Disaster Relief Fund, the Chief Minister made sanctions from the CM’s Relief Fund.

As many as 44 passengers were burnt alive when the bus in which they were travelling caught fire near Palem in Mahbubnagar district during the early hours of October 30.

According to a press release issued by the CMO, the state has decided to set up a committee of senior IAS officers to investigate the cause of the Palem bus mishap and to suggest measures to prevent such accidents in the future. The CM has also ordered a CID inquiry into the accident, the release said.