Ex-gratia of Rs.5 Lakh Each Given to Families of Road Mishap Victims

Anantapur: Finance Minister Payyavula Kesav on Sunday distributed an ex-gratia of Rs.5 lakh to each family that lost its members in a road accident near Talagasipalle Cross in Garladinne a day ago.

The auto rickshaw they were travelling in was hit by an RTC bus on NH44. A total of 12 farm labourers lost their lives. Four more injured victims battled for their lives at KIMS hospital.

Kesav visited the Elutla village in Putlur mandal and consoled the bereaved family members on Sunday. He distributed cheques of Rs.5 lakh to each family. He assured them of more help from the government to uplfit the families.

Health minister Satya Kumar visited the KIMS hospital and said the government would bear the medical expenses of the victims being treated at private hospitals.

Tadipathri municipal chairman Prabhakar Reddy called for a ban on overloaded auto rickshaws on the highway roads. “An average of 60 persons, mostly farm labourers, are killed in road mishaps in the region every month,” he lamented.

He urged the government to provide government jobs to these families as the announced compensation was “insufficient.”