Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed his sorrow over the death of 12 people, including seven relatives of the groom in a bridal party, in a bus accident in Odisha state’s Ganjam district late Sunday night.
Hours after returning from his visit to the US and Egypt, Modi tweeted his condolences and announced an ex-gratia amount of INR 200,000 ($2,440) for the families of the deceased and INR 50,000 ($610) for the injured.
The deceased included four women and two children.
The accident occurred when a private bus carrying the wedding guests of a bridegroom en route to Digapahandi collided head-on with a state transport bus that was traveling to Bhubaneswar, the state capital.
The incident occurred near the town of Digapahandi.
An official told the media that seven who were injured in the accident were undergoing treatment at MKCG medical college and hospital in Berhampur, adding that a critically injured person has been moved to SCB medical college and hospital. Meanwhile, the passengers traveling in the state-run OSRTC bus only suffered minor injuries.
Odisha State Chief Naveen Patnaik also expressed his condolences regarding the tragic deaths.
He declared an ex-gratia of INR 300,000 ($3,660) each for the next of kin of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The wounded got INR 30,000 ($366).