HYDERABAD:The Hyderabad High Court took cognisance of the horrific road accident in which 22 persons, including nine women and seven children, died at Dowleswaram barrage in East Godavari district on June 13 this year.
Acting Chief Justice Dilip B Bhosale, who took cognisance of the road accident incident based on a letter from Geddam Atchutha Rao, advocate from East Godavari district, has directed the registry to list the matter as a PIL case and it will come up for hearing on Monday.
It may be recalled that in a pre-dawn road crash about 22 pilgrims died when an overloaded mini-van crashed into River Godavari after breaking the perimeter of the bridge at Dowleswaram. The driver did not notice the curve on the barrage. The victims were returning from a pilgrimage to various sites in the state and had begun their journey on June 6. The van tumbled from a height of over 50 feet into the river. The pilgrims were all relatives belonging to the same family from Mosaiahpeta village in Atchyuthapuram mandal in Visakhapatnam district.
The advocate, in his letter, said the road accident took place due to negligence of the officials belonging to irrigation, transport, roads and buildings and the home departments. Of the total 200 electrical poles on the bridge, only two bulbs were functioning at the time of accident. Besides darkness in the entire area, there were no signboards on the barrage indicating the curve and it resulted in the accident.
The inaction of the police personnel in not intercepting and checking the ill-fated van which passed through several districts with overcrowding capacity of 23 persons, he pointed out.
He urged the court to call for the records and issue directions to the authorities of the departments concerned to identify the personnel who are indirectly responsible for the death of 22 persons and take action against them to ensure no occurrence of such accidents. He also wanted the court to take steps for the welfare of the 10-year-old Sai Kiran who is the only survivor in the mishap, and his grandfather Venkulu.