Kolkata, Oct 01: One of the buses transporting Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers, office-bearers, and beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) from West Bengal to Delhi was involved in an accident at Koderma in Jharkhand. The incident occurred amid heavy rainfall on a Sunday morning.
According to the bus driver’s account, the accident took place when the bus, carrying 33 passengers from Purulia, attempted to avoid a road divider by veering into a dirt mound at the roadside. As a result of the impact, at least eight individuals sustained minor injuries. Fortunately, prompt first aid was administered to the injured passengers, and the bus promptly initiated its journey back to West Bengal.
The ill-fated bus was among the more than 50 private buses hastily arranged by the TMC to transport thousands of people to Delhi for a planned protest set to commence at Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti, which falls on October 2.
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The buses departed from Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata around 1.10 pm on Saturday, covering roughly 350 km, which is just over one-fifth of the 1,500 km road journey from the West Bengal capital to the national capital when the accident occurred.
These buses were organized in response to the cancellation of a special train to Delhi that had been planned for the protesters by Eastern Railways. The train cancellations led to passengers receiving refunds. It is worth noting that all the other buses, except for the one involved in the accident, continued their journey towards Delhi.
The Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata had been crowded with individuals selected to travel to Delhi since Saturday morning. Many protesters had begun to assemble on Friday in anticipation of taking the train, which was later canceled.
On Monday, top TMC leaders will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. Other TMC leaders and MGNREGA workers traveling by bus are expected to reach the national capital by Tuesday. The TMC has planned a grand protest at Jantar Mantar on that day, during which a delegation will attempt to meet Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and present a memorandum to him.
