Cuttack/Sambalpur/Paradip, April 19: The bus that skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Deogarh district on Sunday killing 27 persons and injuring 11 used to transport children of Central School in Bargarh.
In view of the school holidays, the bus owner had let the bus be used by Bharati Gananatya, the jatra troupe whose members were killed in the mishap. The vehicle did not have fitness certificate since 2013 and the regional transport office, Cuttack, had issued notices to its original owner Tapan Kumar Mohanty, a resident of Cuttack. The Cuttack RTO today registered a case against Mohanty for running the bus without a valid permit and fitness certificate.
However, Mohanty's family members have claimed that he had sold the bus to Altaf Hussain of Bargarh through an agreement on March 23, 2013. Hussain was the one who had engaged the bus to transport schoolchildren. Transport officials said that the bus continued to be in the name of Mohanty and consequently, he was liable for the negligent act even though Hussain could be operating the bus without completing the necessary formalities.
The bodies of the deceased in the accident were taken to their respective villages yesterday for cremation. The troupe was quite popular in the small towns of west Odisha.
On Saturday, the troupe had performed at Dengurjhar village in Tilebani block of the district. Their last play was Rangeela Babu Rangei Dela and the troupe was on its way to Chhattisgarh when the incident occurred, 15km away from the town. The injured persons are being treated at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Science and Research (VIMSAR) at Burla.
Hospital sources said that two of the 11 injured persons, Bansidhar Sahu and Dilip Pandey, continue to be critical and were being treat in the ICU.
One of the survivors, Bulu Mishra, who has been admitted to the surgery ward of VIMSAR, said the vehicle was running at a very high speed. The driver apparently did not slow down despite being repeatedly told to do so.
"I had been to the spot of accident and was part of the rescue operation. I had never seen such a horrifying sight in my life. The bodies were lying strewn in pools of blood. Some of the victims were lying trapped under the bus," said Ashok Nanda, a resident of Deogarh town.
"I had also met some people of Dengurjhar, where the troupe performed on Saturday. They came to know about the accident yesterday and were deeply saddened," said Nanda.
A pall of gloom has gripped Bebhogchatara and Okilopapa - two villages in Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts, respectively. The two actresses of the troupe - Manorama Patra, 24, and Yashoda Saunti, 27 - belonged to these villages and met an untimely end in the accident. Sunday's mishap has virtually wiped out the Bharati Gananatya jatra troupe.
Manorama's 62-year-old father Sricharana is yet to come to terms with the tragic incident. He has not been speaking much since he learnt of his daughter's death yesterday, said a villager.
"She entered the jatra world when she was hardly 18. With her acting skills, she had managed to bag lead roles in plays. A leading jatra troupe was in touch with her with a good yearly contract offer. She was ecstatic after getting the offer. She had told us that she would be back home in June to spend a month in the village. But God desired otherwise," Sricharana said with tears in his eyes.
The tale of Yashoda was no different. After an eventful stint of nearly 10 years in various jatra troupes, Yashoda was looking forward to a role in a TV serial.
"The incident has left us heartbroken. Everyone loved Yashoda because of her amiable character," said Rahas Behari Barik, an elderly resident of Okilopapa.
"My daughter is dead. No father would want to see his daughter dying such a horrifying death," said Yashoda's father Sahadev.
President of All Odisha Jatra Artists' Association Ananta Ojha said: "Both of them were close to us and were very talented."
