LOCALS DEMAND SAFETY STEPS AT MISHAP SPOT

Accident spot Photo: SNS

SNS, Kurseong, 17 July: Regular commuters and locals of Gorabari-Sonada emphasised that proper railings must be erected and other safety measures taken at the frequent accident zone of Gorabari in Sonada under Darjeeling sub divisional area.

Throughout yesterday as well as today, the locals and commuters gathered at the accident site of the Gorabari, where an escort vehicle of the country’s President met with an accident on 15 July that injured three persons.

This is not the first accident there. Earlier too, several accidents had occurred there and now the area is considered to be accident prone. The local residents demanded that proper safety measures must be taken immediately by the concerned authorities to avoid this kind of accident there in the future.

Talking to reporters at the accident site, some drivers, who stopped their respective vehicles for some time to see the accident site, said that mediapersons must highlight this accident site in their reports for the immediate construction of proper railings and other safety measures. A driver from Siliguri said: “For the past several years, I have been travelling from Siliguri to Darjeeling. It is really unfortunate that even after several accidents at that particular site, no proper safety measures have been taken up by the authorities concerned.”

He added that the road is narrow with a sudden sharp bend at the particular section. Along with the construction of safety railings, the road should also be widened and the sharpness of the bend should be minimised.

In the meantime, when asked, Darjeeling district superintendent of police Mr Amit P Javalgi said that the cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained. He added that an inquiry is on.

The four police personnel injured in the accident involving an escort vehicle accompanying President Pranab Mukherjee are improving.

The police personnel were injured after their escort car of the convoy carrying President Pranab Mukherjee, West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and chief minister Mamata Banerjee fell into a gorge near Sonada in Darjeeling. They have been admitted in the critical care unit of Siliguri district hospital. A medical board has already been constituted to monitor their health.

The escort car which was between the vehicles of Mr Mukherjee and Miss Baner- jee skidded off the road and fell into the gorge leaving five security personnels injured.

The chief security liaison officer Mr A P Singh was flown to Delhi with the Pres- ident for further check up and treatment on the same day while the other four. Mr Deep Sankar Rudra, special superintendent of CID, sub inspector Mr Piyush Bhattacharya of special security unit (SSU), Mr Sudip Kumar Biswas(SI) and driver Mr Gautam Sen of SSU have been admitted at the CCU of the hospital.

The family members of Mr Rudra and Mr Biswas have already arrived in Siliguri.

“Their present condition is stable and they are recovering. The medical board is continuously observing their health condition. No major internal injury have been found in the X-ray and CT scan reports,” said the medical superintendent of the hospital Dr Amitava Mondal. Dr Mondal is also heading the medical board.

“Mr Sen, however did suffer a colles’ fracture but that is again not a major one, added Dr. Mondal.

One of the Doctors added that Mr Rudra suffered hematoma on the left eye.

Nilanjana Rudra, daughter of Mr Deep Sankar Rudra said her father had informed them about his accident over phone.

“He informed us about the incident over the phone immediately after the incident. We have had a talk with him at the hospital,” she said. Tourism minister Gautam Deb met the injured persons today.

“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has asked me to enquire about their condition. She wishes their speedy recovery,” he said.

“I have already met the injured police personnels and have had a talk with them. They are recovering very fast,” said Mr Deb.

A surgery was conducted on the injured hand of Mr Sen and another one person suffered eye injuries.