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Death toll in Bihar tragedy reaches 29

Our correspondent in Patna

Bihar Power Minister Shyam Rajak has suspended five electricity board officials for the poor maintenance of the 11,000 volt high tension wire in Daltonganj town in Palamu district, which led to the electrocution tragedy early Thursday morning.

The death toll, meanwhile, has risen to 29.

The wire had fallen on the Ram Navmi procession when the huge flag the devotees were carrying tangled with it. While one report said the flag accidentally came in contact with the wire, other reports said the people wanted to raise the wire with the help of some wooden mast to make way for the big flag, and it was in this process that it came down.

A third version has it that the devotees may not have seen the wire, as the procession was passing through a little after midnight, and it could be this that was behind the mishap.

Three of the 29 bodies were burnt beyond recognition. While 20 died on the spot, the rest died in hospitals. Two of the four critically wounded have been transferred to the Rajendra medical college hospital in Ranchi, which is 125 km from Palamu.

The incident sent shock waves through the state. Daltonganj.Kasab Mohalla, the scene of the tragedy, wore a ghostly look. Most of the victims came from the Lal Kotha road of this locality.

Electricity wires falling on road is not an isolated phenomenon in the state.

Chief Minister Rabri Devi has announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 100,000 each to the next of kin of the dead and a job to one in each family. Rs 5,000 would be paid to the injured and free medical treatment made available to them.

There is general resentment against the administration for letting such an accident occur. High tension wires passing over the populated areas of the town are not maintained properly, people alleged.

Ironically, the BSES does not have a chairman at present. Former chief minister Nitish Kumar had made Vijay Shankar Dubey, who was its chairman, the chief secretary of the state.

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