Patnaik announces Rs one lakh compensation

Bhubaneswar, Oct 12: Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced compensation of Rs one lakh to the next of kin of the people who died in a road accident in Uttarakhand on Oct 10.

As many as 41 people from the state were killed and two seriously injured, when the bus in which they were travelling plunged into a deep gorge near Vishnu Prayag on the banks of river Alakananda in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

The tourists, from the Ganjam and Puri districts of Orissa, were on a pilgrimage and were on their way to Rishikesh from Badrinath when the accident occurred.

Expressing profound shock over the incident, the Chief Minister said arrangements had been made for the treatment of the injured.

The of the victims would be performed at Hardwar tomorrow. State Mines and Steel Minister Padmanav Behera and Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal will leave for Uttarakhand to participate in the last rites, official sources said.

Ganjam District Collector K Pandiyan, along with 27 close relatives of the accident victims, would be leaving for Uttarakhand today to help them participate in the last rites and meet the injured.

UNI