noida: At least 11 people, including two children, were killed while 40 others injured when a container truck rammed into a tractor-trolley carrying pilgrims on National Highway 34 in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district in the early hours on Monday.
The accident took place around 2:15 am near the Arnia area. “Nearly 60 people in a tractor-trolley, including women and children from Soron area in Kasganj, were travelling to Gogamendi Jaharveer in Rajasthan for a pilgrimage when a truck hit the tractor from behind. The victims were rushed to hospitals in Aligarh and Bulandshahr. Eleven people were killed while 40 were injured. One of them is critical and is put on the ventilator support. The bodies were handed over to families after performing post-mortem,” SSP Dinesh Kumar Singh said.
The truck has been seized and efforts are on to nab the driver.
Those dead included E U Babu (40), his mother Moksh Shree (65), Vinod Kumar (45), his mother Rambeti (65), Yogesh Kumar (50), Dhani Ram (40), Umashankar (60), Lekhraj (45), Chandni (12) and Shivansh (6), all residents of Rafatpur village under Soron police station area of Kasganj.
A senior doctor performing post-mortem confirmed that the dead people mostly suffered blunt trauma and serious injuries with multiple fractures in the head and limbs.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the injured.
The accident has once again exposed glaring lapses by the National Highway Authority, police, and transport officials in enforcing the ban on tractor-trolleys being used for passenger travel, under the provisions of Motor Vehicle Act.
Ghaziabad’s Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Krishan Dutt Singh, who conducted an inspection of the accident site, told the Millennium Post that, under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, the use of a tractor-trolley for any purpose except agriculture is banned in India.
“Since there were passengers on board, it should not be allowed… We appeal to the people not to use tractor-trolleys to transport people…,” said Singh.
The ill-fated vehicle — a tractor-trolley modified into a two-storey, hut-like structure completely covered with black tarpaulin — was carrying over 60 passengers on a 500 km pilgrimage via expressways, highways, and even through the National Capital.
Despite passing multiple checkpoints, including the Gabhana toll plaza on NH-34 minutes before the crash, it went unnoticed by authorities. Police later said rain and the absence of reflectors on the black tarpaulin contributed to the mishap. But locals argue the tragedy was preventable had the vehicle been stopped earlier.
Villagers revealed that such journeys are common: every year, thousands from Kasganj and nearby districts travel to Gogamedi Jaharveer temple in Rajasthan in similarly modified tractor-trolleys.
Bulandshahr’s SP (Rural) Tejveer Singh said that they are in close coordination with concerned departments to strictly enforce the curb on the movement of these vehicles and prevent such tragedies in future.