Guwahati, June 8: A Class XI student of a school here died under tragic circumstances after she fell off the scooty she was riding pillion and was run over by a school bus moving beside their two-wheeler in the Ganeshguri area on Thursday morning.
The deceased girl, identified as Priya Kumari, a student of Little Flower School in Hatigaon, was on her way to school when the mishap took place behind the MLA hostel, which is just a few metres away from Rajdhani Masjid.
Closed-circuit television camera footage showed that Priya was riding pillion on a scooty with her sister, when their vehicle lost control and fell on the road, apparently due to the accumulated earth left beside an“unguarded/unfenced” hole which was dug up as a part of the JICA-assisted Guwahati water supply project, only to be run over by the school bus which was moving beside their scooty.
Authorities, who had all the while done precious little to avert such a tragic mishap, however were prompt enough to cover the open hole using an excavator, only after a hue and cry following the loss of a young life.
The deceased student’s sister was injured in the incident and taken to a hospital.
The driver of the school bus had fled the scene only to be taken into police custody later. The bus has been seized and taken to Basistha police station.
Irate witnesses attributed the mishap to the unfenced, half-done dug-up pathways in the area as one of the reasons for such accidents.
“The authorities need to be taken to task as an innocent, young life was lost owing to sheer apathy and lack of coordination on the part of the project and the civic authorities. Why was such a massive hole left unfenced and unguarded in such a busy area?, asked a passerby.
Of late, such open, half-done underground work, which at times emerge as “death traps,” much like the open manholes on footpaths, is seen on the road sides, in the nook and cranny of the city.
Not just the JICA-assisted Guwahati water supply project, but several other companies, including gas and telecom companies among others, are engaged in such underground work in the city.
On the other hand, reckless and unrestricted driving by bus and other vehicle drivers in the city is a key reason for such toad mishaps.
About a month back, a Class VII student of Railway High School in Maligaon, died on the spot after being hit by an army truck. The 12-year-old girl was reportedly riding pillion on a scooter and on her way to school when the mishap took place.