Sidhi bus accident: Shivraj Singh Chouhan suspends four officials

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday night suspended the Regional Transport Officer (RTO) of Sidhi district and three officials of the MP Road Development Corporation (MPRDC) after 51 persons lost their lives in a bus accident.

Bhopal:Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday suspended Divisional Manager, Assistant General Manager, Manager of Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation and RTO Sidhi in connection with the Sidhi bus accident which claimed 51 lives so far. Chouhan also instructed officials to improve the roads along the Chhuhiya Ghati along with the expansion of additional roads in the area and also heaped praises on the district administration officials for their rescue operations.

The Sidhi police on Wednesday arrested the bus driver in connection with the Sidhi bus accident, informed an official statement.

"The driver of the bus was arrested by the Satna police. He was brought to Sidhi after the arrest," said DharamVir Singh Yadav, Superintendent of Police, Satna.

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan arrived at Rampur Naikin in Sidhi district met the families of the people who died in Sidhi bus accident. CM Chouhan assured kin of victims of appropriate help.

On Tuesday, Chouhan announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of people who died in the bus accident in Sidhi. Out of this Rs 10,000 each has been given to them immediately.

Calling it a 'tragic incident', CM ordered the repair of roads and said that traffic has to be halted for six hours on both sides of the road to repair it

"We need to find a long-term solution to avoid such road accidents in future and we will also open another optional route from Jigna to Bharatpur for time-being. Traffic has to be halted for six hours on both sides of the road to repair it. Who is to be held responsible when there was heavy traffic on the road?," he said.

"Sixty-two passengers were travelling in a 32-seater bus. Who was responsible for this? So the concerned RTO is also being suspended. Action will be taken against others who are responsible for the incident too," he added.

"I am suspending Divisional Manager, Assistant General Manager, Manager of Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation. I am suspending RTO in connection with the incident and any other held responsible will be suspended further," he said.

"The matter will be investigated thoroughly. I appreciate the work done by SDRF, NDRF, district administration officials in this tough hour, " he added.

CM appreciated the work of Sivarani, LuvKush and civil aviation officer Satyendra Sharma for their rescue operations and announced an award of Rs 5 lakh for them. He also said that he will reward the police and government officers involved in the search and rescue operation task.

The accident took place on Tuesday morning near Patna village, around 80 km from the Sidhi district headquarters when the bus heading from Sidhi to Satna fell into the canal, which is part of the Bansagar dam project.

Nearly 600 personnel, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local authorities, from five districts, are engaged in the rescue operation since Tuesday morning, officials said.

With agency inputs