Families not yet given money to conduct funeral

Jagital: Heart rendering scenes were seen in Shanivarampet village where family members kept the bodies of their kith and kin who died in Kondagattu bus accident on huge ice slabs and covered them with the rice husk bought with their own money as the State officials had not provide them dead body freezer boxes. Neither had they given them some money as immediate relief so that the victims’ families could organise freezer boxes from nearby cities like Nizamabad and Karimnagar and Sircilla.

Most of the victims of the bus accident were poor labourers and belonged to SC and BC communities and they could not afford money to get freezers. The freezer boxes are a must to keep bodies intact for a few days till funeral could be performed.

The state government has also failed to give immediate relief to the deceased families towards funeral expenditure. Family members are waiting for the arrival of their kith and kin from the Gulf countries before the funerals.

In Shanivarampet village, where 13 people died in the bus accident, the bodies were kept on ice slabs to save them till their relatives can reach home and pay their last respects.

It was the same situation in Ramsagar, Dabbu Thimmayipali and Thirmalapur villages where the number of deceased was high.

The state government has announced '5 lakh ex-gratia to each deceased family, while the TSRTC management has offered '3 lakh to each family. The deceased’s family will also get '2 lakh as medical insurance if the victim was a TRS party member and additional '5 lakh if the deceased was covered under Rythu Bandhu.

But the ex-gratia announced by the government had not yet been received by the victims’ families. Meanwhile, Telugu Desam leaders led by L. Ramana distributed Rs 25,000 to the victims’ families.

Many still critical as death toll reaches 61

The death toll of the Kondagattu bus accident reached 61 by Wednesday evening and few others who are injured in the accident are still critical.

Victims are undergoing treatment at various government and private hospitals in Hyderabad and Karimnagar.

C.H Rajitha, 35, of Raghavapur died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital and  Sumalatha, 24, of Bavusaipet village of Konaraopet mandal died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Karimnagar.

Former ZPTC Gudise Rajaiah, of Shaniwarpeta village in Kodimyala mandal died while under going a treatment at a private hospital. On Tuesday midnight, a another woman died.