Bhubaneswar/Berhampur: The state government Wednesday decided not to allow buses carrying tourists to ply on the treacherous route of Kalinga Ghati on Ganjam-Kandhamal border where six people from West Bengal died in a mishap late Tuesday night. The decision was taken in view of frequent accidents on this route. Speaking to media persons here, Commerce and Transport Minister Padmanabha Behera said a probe into the bus mishap has been ordered.
In the past, several tourist buses had met with mishaps at Kalinga Ghati, he added. Such bus drivers have no expertise in driving in such hilly routes like Kalinga Ghati, he said, adding that the state government will issue an advisory for tourist buses coming on this route. These buses will be allowed to take a detour, he added.
At least six tourists from West Bengal, four of them women, were killed and 40 were injured when the bus they were travelling in met with an accident at Kalinga Ghati. “It had successfully crossed major portion of the ghati road, but lost control at the last turning due to brake failure. I could not stop the bus and it dashed against a post at a speed before making several turns,” an unhurt bus driver told reporters.
The incident took place at 12:10am near Durgaprasad village in Ganjam and 15 people among the injured are in serious condition, the police said Wednesday. The bus, carrying 77 people, about 65 of them tourists from West Bengal’s Howrah and Hooghly, was moving towards Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh from Daringibandi in Kandhamal district when the mishap took place, Ganjam SP Brijesh Rai said. Police and firefighters from nearby Bhanjangar rushed to the spot and rescued the bus passengers, 40 of who were injured.
Police suspect that the bus rolled down the road while negotiating a curve in the hilly terrain after the driver lost control over the vehicle. The bodies of the six tourists who died in the mishap were retrieved after breaking the window panes of the bus, Bhanjanagar SDPO SS Mishra said. The deceased were identified as Supiya Denre, 33, Sanjeet Patra, 33, Rima Denre, 22, her mother Mausumi Denre and Barnali Manna, 34, from Sultanpur in Howrah district and Swapan Gushait, 44, the cook from Gopalpur in Hooghly, police said.
CM Naveen Patnaik has expressed grief over the accident and wished speedy recovery of the injured. Notably, two people had died when a bus carrying migrant workers from Surat faced an accident at Kalinga Ghati May 2, 2021.
Similarly, December 16, 2021, a tourist bus from West Bengal had also faced an accident there. As many as 15 tourists were injured while three of them were critical. Then, the minister had assured that the drivers would be sensitized about needs for cautious driving on this route.