Bhubaneswar, Feb. 16: Two mishaps in as many weeks have made the state government sit up and think of ways to prevent accidents on the famous Dhauli hills, a Buddhist site, on the city outskirts. The two accidents at the site claimed four lives and left 90 injured.

On February 7, four persons were killed and 30 injured when a tourist bus with passengers from Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh met with an accident. Yesterday’s accident left 60 tourists from Bengal with minor injuries.

As a first preventive step, the government today closed the narrow road connecting the Asoka Pillar in the foothills of Dhauli with the Shiv temple at the top next to the Dhauli peace pagoda. The road is not meant for heavy vehicles.

Principal secretary, tourism, Ashok Kumar Tripathy, said: “The district administration of Khurda and police closed this road today. The February 7 accident took place on this road, which has not been laid properly and not meant for heavy vehicles such as bus. To ensure constant vigil, we have instructed the district administration and the local development council to deploy security personnel there round the clock.”

The second incident yesterday also took place on a secondary road not meant for heavy vehicles. A senior engineer of the Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) said: “The road towards the Bairageswar temple on the bank of Daya river is usually not meant for big vehicles such as bus. But, tourists from other states prefer the spot, because it has facilities for bathing and cooking. The upcoming sculptor park is also situated nearby. The tourism department will now inspect the condition of the road and if needed, we will conduct a structural improvement in consultation with the works department.”

“There can be three gates at three vital points around Dhauli where security persons can stop, restrict and advise drivers from other states, because they are not familiar with the road condition around here,” said the OTDC official.

Tour professional Debasish Mohapatra said: “We are worried about the two accidents taking place in two weeks. Since a lot of budget tourists come from neighbouring states Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, such mishaps might create a fear psychosis among travellers.”

A tourist from Jajpur district, Subhasish Das, said: “The toll tax collected near a tourist spot should be used for development of the area. The authorities must take adequate steps to make Dhauli safer.”

On February 7 the incident occurred around 1.25 pm in the afternoon when the bus broke the walls and fell 15 feet from the roads. Three persons including two women died on the spot while another one succumbed to his injuries at the Sriram Chandra Bhanja medical college and hospital at Cuttack. Yesterday the bus from West Bengal was about to skid from a slope, but the driver could manage to stop the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the Odisha Government is thinking of acquiring more than 56 acres of land around Dhauli to ensure that the monument and its immediate environs are not threatened by pollution and mindless urbanisation. With real estate developers eying the land around the hill, the state government has already sanctioned Rs 4.6 crore towards payment of the first installment of land acquisition to be carried out by the General Administration Department. The entire cost of the acquisition process has been pegged at Rs 23 crore.

The move, according to sources, follows the government’s experience in Sishupalgarh, an ASI protected site, which is facing encroachment threat. The ruins of Sisupalgargh fort, dating back 2,000 years, are now hemmed in by more than 500 houses, all of which have come up in violation of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority norms.