Darjeeling: A deadly truck accident left four dead and six injured in the Jaleshwari Bazar area under the Siliguri Municipal Corporation and the Bhaktinagar police station in the Jalpaiguri district. The day saw local residents setting up roadblocks in protest along with demanding that a traffic police booth be set up in the locality.
According to local residents, a truck carrying boulders lost control and hit the street divider following which it rammed into a shop and tilted. The boulders emptied on roadside stalls and customers. The incident occurred at Jaleshwari Bazar around 8.20 pm on Thursday when the truck was going to Ambari from Asigarh More.
The injured were rushed to the North Bengal Medical College where four of the persons were declared brought dead. The others injured are under treatment at the Siliguri District Hospital. The deceased include Ranjan Singha, Bapi Sarkar, Jagadish Debnath and Bijoy Pal. On Friday evening, as per the announcement made by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, cheques of Rs 2,50,000 each were handed over to the next of kin of the deceased. The cheques were handed over by Bulu Chik Baraik, Minister of State (Independent charge) of Backward Classes Welfare and Tribal Development Department in the presence of Sabina Yeasmin, Minister of State, North Bengal Development Department.
"As soon as she got the news of the incident, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inquired about the situation and directed to hand over ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and the injured. Five persons severely injured have received cheques of Rs 50,000 each and one person with injuries has received Rs 25,000. The state government will also take care of their treatment," stated Baraik.
The day saw widespread protests by local residents and the Jaleshwar Marker Committee. Complaining of high speeding vehicles along with Eastern Bypass, they demanded that traffic police be posted in the area. Roadblocks were put up and the Jaleshwar market remained closed.
A large police contingent along with Rapid Action Force was posted to ward off any untoward incident. Gaurav Sharma, Commissioner of Police, Siliguri Metropolitan Police visited the spot and assured the residents of taking all necessary steps including a traffic police booth.
"We are in the process of collecting CCTV footage for investigation purposes. I have spoken to representatives of the market committee. All issues, including road engineering, proper lighting, CCTV interventions will be addressed. We will give priority to Eastern Bypass," assured Sharma.