HASSAN: Purushotam of Mangaluru was on his way to celebrate his son’s birthday in Dharmastala. This is when his bus met with an accident, which claimed seven lives. Though in utmost shock, Purushotam says he is thankful to God that he survived. “I can celebrate my one-year-old son’s birthday only if I am alive. I was one of the lucky ones.”
Purushotam, who was sitting on the middle seat of the bus, sustained injuries on his leg and shoulder. He was sleeping when the accident occurred. Another survivor Siddaiah of Garag in Kolar district. He too was on his way to Dharmastala with four friends. He said many passengers fell on him and the injured were crying for help. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t react for a few minutes after the accident,” he said.
Later, he helped four injured people escape after one of the passengers broke a windshield with his legs. Ramesh, another passenger with minor injuries from a village near Dharmastala, said there were 43 passengers in the bus, all were asleep.
The deceased are Shivappa Chalavadi (36), bus driver, Basavanabagewadi, Lakshman (34), conductor, from Raichur, Dayana (21) and Bijo George(26), from Neriya in Dakshina Kannada, Sonia (28), also from Neriya village, Rakesh Prabhu (26), son of Ramadas of Neladi village in DK and Gangadhar (48), son of Narasimaiah, from Bapujinagar, Bengaluru.
A holiday trip ended in tragedy
Bengaluru: Gangadhar M G, a resident of Bapujinagar, who was killed in a road mishap in Hassan, often went to Dharamasthala with family. He was working as a superintendent in Regional Vocational Training Institutes. Speaking to Express, Manjunath, brother of Gangadhar, said, “My elder brother planned
to visit Dharmsthala and Kukke Subramanya for Sankranti.
The family had to return to the city on Monday and he often planned trips during government holidays close to weekends.” “Gangadhar had left the house on Friday with his wife Sudha, their son Srikanth and daughter Madhusri. Both his children work at a private company. The three of them are recovering at a hospital in Bengaluru now.
I also visited the accident scene and was informed that the driver was feeling drowsy while driving and that led to the accident,” Manjunath added.