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drowning: Shock & anger in City
Himachal Tragedy Of VNR Students, Drowning: Shock & Anger in City. Emotional scenes were witnessed at the Shamshabad airport on Monday midnight as 24 students of VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology who survived the tragic incident of drowning in the river Beas in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday arrived by a special flight. Twenty-four students and the bus operator were killed in the tragedy.
24 survivors return home
- Five bodies recovered, 20 still missing
- Army joins NDRF in search operations
- HP CM orders magisterial probe
- HR Minister Smriti Irani visits site of tragedy, offers all help from Centre
Hyderabad: Emotional scenes were witnessed at the Shamshabad airport on Monday midnight as 24 students of VNR Vignana Jyothi Institute of Engineering and Technology who survived the tragic incident of drowning in the river Beas in Himachal Pradesh on Sunday arrived by a special flight. Twenty-four students and the bus operator were killed in the tragedy.
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A pall of gloom descended on the Begumpet airport when another special air force plane carrying 4 out of 5 recovered bodies of the students, landed at 12.15 am. Of the five, three are girls and two boys.
Two AP ministers P Pulla Rao and P Raghunath Reddy received the bodies. State Minister P Narayana and Union Minister Ashok Gajpati Raju and J C Sarma, Commissioner (Relief) accompanied the surviving students. Earlier during the day chaotic scenes were witnessed at Shamshabad airport. Having left high and dry with no official from the institute or from the government at hand to guide them, the parents who wanted to rush to the place of the incident sat on dharna at the airport. They alleged that the officials of the institution were refusing to own up responsibility.
They finally relented following intervention of two Chief Ministers, N Chandrababu Naidu and K Chandrasekhar Rao, who organised special flights around 1 pm. The parents of two children from city belonging to Rahmatnagar and Vanasthalipuram were in a state of shock and were praying that their children return safe. Minister for Irrigation T Harish Rao said that the government would order a probe into the incident and if proved, the government would take action against the governing body of the college. Search operations were intensified on Monday morning Two teams of NDRF comprising 45 members each had been dispatched to the mishap site to help local authorities in relief and search operations, according to a senior official of NDRF.
The volume of water was making operations a bit tough,said Sanjeev, paramilitary Sashastra Seema Bal member. Army personnel also joined the search operations.
“The high discharge of water and shortage of boats are causing some problem but we have list of missing persons and hope to recover the bodies. Our jawans are moving in boats and strict vigil is being maintained along the banks of Beas and NDRF teams and divers from BBMB have also reached the spot," the officials said.
Taking serious note of the matter, the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Veerabhadra Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry by Divisional commissioner, Mandi, to fix responsibility for the tragedy and suggest measure to stop recurrence of such incidents.
Singh also ordered suspension of the Resident Engineer and a case has been registered against the staff for negligence and not forewarning the people before releasing water from the dam.
Terming the incident as unfortunate, he said, "Students had come with teachers. I think the teachers should have taken precaution that the students did not go to the riverbed. Anyway I do not want to blame anybody"
On suggestions that there was no warning, the Himachal Chief Minister said, "I object to the point that there was no warning. Even today water is flowing very fast. If the gate is opened, the water level may go up by a few inches."
It is also learnt that the Home Ministry has sought a report from the state on the incident. In Hyderabad, anxious parents and relatives rushed to the private engineering college at Bachupally seeking information about their dear ones. The parents and relatives complained that they did not receive any information regarding the incident from the college management.
The parents were seen questioning why the students were taken to the riverbed in the night hours? They collected Rs 15,000 from each student," Naik, father of a student Rambabu, who was part of the trip, said.
"I had spoken to my son on June 5. His exams had completed on June 2 and he said the college management was taking them for the tour. Whether it is a study tour or a picnic trip...nothing was informed by the management," said Naik, who hails from Nalgonda district.
Union Minister for HRD Smriti Irani also reached accident spot. On landing at the Bhuntar airport near Kullu, Irani assured all possible assistance to the state from the Centre for the search operation.
