Golaghat, Feb. 8: Twelve people died on the spot and three were critically injured this morning on National Highway 37 near Bokakhat town in Golaghat district after their vehicle rammed into a stationary truck loaded with iron rods.
The injured were admitted to Bokakhat civil hospital from where they were referred to Jorhat Medical College and Hospital.
Bokakhat police said the vehicle (Tata Winger AS-05/C-1714) carrying 16 people, including the driver, was returning from the 84th annual session of Srimanta Sankardev Sangha being held at Dhakuakhana in Lakhimpur district. It hit the truck around 4.45am near the Koroiati area, which is around 2km from Bokakhat town and about 250km from Guwahati.
The victims have been identified as Pronoti Bora, 48, Probin Barua, 60, Runu Bora, 48, Atul Bora, 56, Lalit Bora, 80, Surjya Saikia, 53, Atul Saikia, 73, Arun Kurmi, 40, and two couples - Dibakar Bora, 50, Noni Bora, 45, and Dharmeswar Bora, 55, Monali Bora, 49.
On Thursday, the victims hailing from Jugonia, Habial, Jelamoni and Rangdhali villages of the greater Gonokpukhuri area had gone to attend the four-day mega congregation of the Sangha.
Local people said when the accident took place the vehicle was being driven by Bitu Barhoi, son of its owner, as the, driver Arun Kurmi, felt sleepy. Barhoi did not even possess a driving licence. The truck driver told the police that the truck stopped on the roadside because of a snag.
After conducting the post-mortem at Golaghat civil hospital, the bodies were handed over to their family members. All the bodies were cremated at their respective villages.
Assam minister of state for cultural affairs and handloom textile, Bismita Gogoi was present at the funerals. She promised to erect a memorial stone and request chief minister Tarun Gogoi to provide compensation to the kin of the victims.
Six members of a wedding party, including a newly married couple, had died in a road mishap at Jamugurihat in Sonitpur district on the morning of January 31. In another incident, five persons were killed in Gohpur of the same district on the same day.
Dadul Bora, president of the Golaghat district unit of the All Assam Students' Union, slammed the police and district administration for their alleged failure to regulate the trucks parked on the roadside.
Pankaj Hazarika, a youth of the area, alleged that four years ago, Tarun Gogoi's former press adviser, Debo Kumar Bora, was killed when his car hit a stationary truck on NH 37 at Rangajan near Kaziranga and after that incident the police and transport department officials were seen very active in controlling unregulated parking of trucks on the highway. But with the passing of time the initiative lost its pace, thus resulting in frequent accidents.
Golaghat district transport officer Nandeswar Lahkar said mishaps continue to occur on NH 37 despite their best efforts to ensure that vehicles adhere to road safety norms. "We are facing manpower shortage, which sometimes affects round-the-clock vigil on roads," Lahkar said.
Last month, Tarun Gogoi said Dispur would set up a road safety authority to implement a target-oriented, multiple-agency approach to prevent and minimise accidents in the state. He said the authority was needed to co-ordinate with multiple agencies such as the transport, traffic, public works department (roads) and research institutes.
