Srirangapatna/Mandya: More than 31 persons including 11 students were injured in separate road accidents that took place in Mandya district yesterday.

In the first incident, 11 SSLC students who were returning home after writing their SSLC exam, sustained injuries, when the goods auto in which they were travelling toppled at Taripura turning near Mahadevapura village in the taluk yesterday.

The goods auto was carrying 13 students and among the 11 injured, two are said to have sustained serious injuries.

The students belong to Chikkankanahalli High School in the taluk and were returning home after writing the Maths paper at Mahadevapura Government School when the accident took place. All the injured students have been admitted to Cheluvamba Hospital in Mysuru and MLA Ravindra Srikantaiah visited the hospital and enquired the health condition of the students with the doctors.

The MLA, who has issued instructions to Block Education Officer (BEO) Anantharaju and Block Resource Coordinator (BRC) Prabha, said that though a circular has been issued keeping the future of the students in mind, why the students were being ferried in a goods auto.

It is learnt that the School’s Management had taken Rs. 300 from each student to take them to the exam centre and drop them back and had booked the goods auto for the same. It is alleged that the auto driver was driving the vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Ravindra Srikantaiah has instructed BEO Anantharaju to take strict action against those responsible and said that he was ready to get the injured students treated and urged the doctors to shift the students to a hi-tech hospital if necessary.

The MLA said that he has asked the BEO to make necessary arrangements for the injured students to write the exams.

Over 20 injured as KSRTC bus ploughs into sugarcane field

In the second incident, more than 20 passengers were injured when the driver of the KSRTC bus in which they were travelling lost control of the bus, rammed it into a bullock cart and ploughed into a sugarcane field near Kanaganamaradi village Government School.

The bus was proceeding from Mandya to Kanaganamaradi in Pandavapura taluk via Hulikere Buga and Vade Samudra, when the driver lost control of the bus and rammed into the bullock cart of one Shivannegowda, which was parked on the roadside and ploughed into the sugarcane field injuring the passengers.

Those injured include Shambhulingaiah, Prakash, Soundarya, Pushpavathi, Manasa, Pradeep, Savithramma, Pankaja, Lakshmamma, Parvathamma, Prajwal and school children.

The villagers, who rescued the injured persons, called the ambulance service, which did not arrive. Meanwhile, BJP leader Dr. N.S. Indresh, who was passing by, helped in shifting the injured persons in his car to the Government Hospital. MLA C.S. Puttaraju, who learnt about the accident, visited the Government Hospital and enquired the condition of the injured persons. He instructed the KSRTC officials to take steps to provide compensation to the injured and take action against those responsible for the accident.

The MLA also instructed the KSRTC officials to provide compensation to farmer Shivannegowda and the KSRTC officials have immediately provided Rs. 20,000 to the farmer and Rs. 2,000 was paid to the farmer who had grown sugarcane. Inspector M.R. Lava, Sub-Inspector Manjunath and others visited the spot and conducted an inspection.  A case has been registered at Pandavapura Police Station.

Injured students to write exams from hospital

Steps will be taken to make arrangements for the injured SSLC students to write the next exams from the hospital itself. Those responsible for the accident would be punished. The goods auto toppled as the auto driver was driving under the influence of alcohol and a complaint has been lodged against him. A case has been registered at Arakere Police Station. — Javaregowda, DDPI, Mandya