UMERKOTE: Tension flared up in Nabarangpur’s Umerkote town after two budding footballers were killed in a road accident on Thursday night. The deceased were identified as Mahesh Gond (25) and Ajay Suna (21), both residents of Chadhheiguda village in Umerkote block. The duo was promising footballers of the region.
Sources said Gond and Suna were on their way to their village on a motorcycle when a truck hit them near Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya in Umerkote town at around 11 p.m. Eyewitnesses said after the collision, the truck dragged the bike along with its riders for over 200 metres. Both the youths were killed instantly.
Following the tragic mishap, irate locals vandalised the truck and staged a road blockade for more than five hours on Friday demanding adequate compensation to the bereaved families. The agitators said Umerkote town is a major commercial centre of the district and its main road connects with the neighbouring Chhattisgarh. Besides, people of adjacent Chandahandi, Raighar, Dabugaon and Jharigaon blocks visit Umerkote town for various works. As a result, thousands of vehicles ply on the main road every day.
“As the road is not wide enough to accommodate the heavy traffic, accidents take place frequently. The administration should immediately widen the main road and improve the traffic system in Umerkote town,” they said.
At around 2.30 p.m., the blockade was lifted after the intervention of the local administration. The bodies of the youth were sent for autopsy. The truck has been seized but its driver is absconding. A case has been registered and further investigation is underway, said police. Nabarangpur MP Ramesh Chandra Majhi and district athletic association secretary Manohar Mohanty expressed grief over the death of the two talented footballers.