Telangana school bus tragedy: Seven year old victim succumbs to injuries

Hyderabad: Seven-year-old Tarun succumbed to his injuries on Saturday evening at the Yashoda Hospital.

He had suffered severe head injuries in the bus-train collision at Masaipet July 24 and  was in a critical condition.

Tarun’s father Srisidam was inconsolable as the family was hoping that Tarun would recover.

More than 300 relatives of the 19 children recuperating in the hospital are currently living in the basement of the hospital in Secunderabad.

Seven children were due to be discharged on Monday.

A senior doctor said, “The children are doing well but are becoming restless. If they go home, they will heal better. But their parents are afraid to take them home as there is no good doctor in about 20-km radius of their village.”

Despite assurances from doctors  that they will visit the village once  a week and set up a camp, the parents  feel that the children will recover faster in the hospital  than in their village where power cuts are a major issue.  

Rabiya Fatima, mother of Nabiya Fatima, said, “There is no power for more than 10 hours. In the rains, there is fear of seasonal diseases. We just want the child to recover here. Right now, they are not eating  and two more days will help them feel better.”

M. Ram Mohan Rao, a resident of the city, on Monday moved the Hyderabad High Court seeking to direct the Telangana state government to constitute a judicial commission, headed by a retired High Court judge, to conduct an inquiry into the fatal school bus accident at Masaipet village on July 24.

He moved the PIL by submitting that while the TS has held the Railways responsible for the mishap by neglecting to set up gates at the unmanned crossings, the Rail authorities have held the school bus driver Bhikshapathi Goud responsible for the accident.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam leader Nara Lokesh on Monday visited the students injured in the Masaipet accident at Yashoda Hospital.

He offered them free education in the NTR Model School, Gandipet, and also handed over Rs 50,000 to each of them.

Mr Lokesh said that he will hand over Rs 1 lakh to the family members of the students who died in the accident.