Nine people, including six women farm workers, were killed yesterday after the seven-seater auto-rickshaw they were travelling in collided with a container truck in Nalgonda district's Devarakonda town. Four others suffered severe injuries.
TPCC president and Nalgonda MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy today demanded that the state government provide adequate compensation to the families of those killed in the tragic road accident.
Reddy, along with former Nalgonda ZP Chairman Balu Naik, DCC President Shankar Naik and other Congress leaders, visited the Devarakonda Hospital and paid his last respects to the mortal remains of the agricultural labourers who were killed in the collision.
He offered his condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, and also extended financial aid of Rs 4 lakh to each family on behalf of the Congress.
Speaking to the media later, the TPCC head said that nine agricultural labourers were killed and 11 others seriously injured in the tragic mishap, and demanded that the state government give Rs 20 lakh ex-gratia aid each to the families of the deceased.
He also demanded that adequate compensation be paid to those injured in the accident, and that free treatment be provided to them as well.
Expressing deep grief over the loss of lives in the road accident, the MP demanded that the TRS government take immediate measures to ensure better road safety standards across Telangana.
"There has been a huge rise in the number of fatal road accidents, especially in the rural areas of the state. Drunken driving, overloading of public transport vehicles, rash driving and bad roads are among the main reasons for such accidents. In this context, it is the duty of the state government to take measures to ensure the safety of the common people at all costs. However, the TRS regime is not paying enough attention to the the matter - the Devarakonda accident is an unfortunate example of the negligence of the local authorities. The local police and transport authorities neither check the over-loading of private seven-seater autos, jeeps and other vehicles, nor do they take adequate steps to check drunken-driving on highways and other roads, especially those running between rural areas. The government must rectify this issue at the earliest," he said.
"Poor villagers and agricultural labourers are paying the price for the government's negligence. They are forced to board over-loaded rickshaws, jeeps and lorries due to the absence of a well-connected public transport system. The state government must also take immediate steps to increase the coverage of the RTC bus network across all the rural areas of the state to discourage people from risking their lives just to travel," he added.
Reddy also pointed out that it was important to instruct the local police and transport authorities to sensitise the local people, especially the drivers plying auto-rickshaws, jeeps and vans, on matters of road safety.
He also demanded the setting up of well-equipped trauma centres, especially in the state's accident prone zones, to save the lives of the accident victims.
The unsettlingly high number of road accident fatalities in the state has prompted the TRS government to take various steps to prevent such mishaps. The Cyberabad Traffic Police recently
increased checking to stop the people of the city from driving under the influence of alcohol in an effort to prevent fatal accidents. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has also been actively involved in bettering road safety, and had even held
a meeting on road safety measures some days ago.