Agartala: Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the 'Ulto Rath Yatra' case where seven devotees died and several others were injured after their chariot accidentally touched an overhead wire at Kumarghat in Unakoti district yesterday.
“I am deeply saddened by the incident. Condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased and I wish speedy recovery to all those who were injured. The state government stands by the families of the deceased during such difficult times. The State Government and Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL )will support them in every manner. Although I am out of state for office work and am unable to come to Kumarghat today, I spoke to local MLA Bhagaban Chandra Das and DGM of TSECL at Kumarghat," Nath said.
The minister also said that he has directed the deputy general manager of TSECL to investigate and submit a report to the state government as soon as possible as to how such a tragic incident took place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed deep grief over the incident. Announcing on Twitter, Modi said that Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 would be given to those injured in the mishap in Tripura.
The opposition political parties including Tipra Motha and CPI-M have demanded financial aid for the next of kin of the deceased and the injured. The deceased were identified as Seema Pal (33), Sushmita Baidya (30), Rupak Das (40), Soma Biswas (28), Rohan Das (9), Shaan Malakar (9) and Priyanka Ghosh (9).
Also Read: Rath Yatra 2023: Seven dead after chariot comes in contact with high-voltage wire in Tripura
Earlier, SDPO Kumarghat Kamal Debbarma said that it was raining heavily since morning and while pulling the chariot the devotees came in touch with the overhead wire. The fire and emergency services personnel took the injured to the hospital immediately, he added.
