Jammu, May 6 (UNI) The district administration has announced ex-gratia for the victims of Mendhar road accident in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Four people including a soldier lost their lives and 44 others injured when a passenger bus on way from Ghani to Mendhar met with an accident and plunged into a deep gorge.
The injured were shifted to nearby medical facilities for treatment.
The official spokesman here said that the Deputy Commissioner Poonch, Vikas Kundal, who also serves as the Chairman of the District Road Safety Committee, has announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs. one lakh each for the families of the deceased.
The compensation will be disbursed from the Road Safety Victim Fund, he said.
The deceased were identified as Mohd Majeed, 45, Shakeela Begum,55, Mohd Haneef, 50 and Noor Hussain,60.
Meanwhile Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology and Environment and Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana, who is also MLA Mendhar, also visited the Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri to enquire about the health of the passengers injured in the tragic bus accident that occurred at Ghani in the Mendhar area.
The Minister interacted with the injured patients and assured them of all possible support for their treatment and speedy recovery.
He directed the Medical Superintendent and the hospital staff to provide the best possible medical care and extend every necessary assistance to the victims.
Expressing concern over the rising number of road accidents in the Rajouri-Poonch region, the Minister called for urgent and concrete measures to enhance road safety.
He emphasised the need to improve road infrastructure across the hilly and accident-prone areas and asked for strengthening driver training and licensing systems, strict enforcement of traffic regulations, regular inspection of commercial and passenger vehicles, launch of targeted public awareness campaigns on road safety and detailed data analysis of past accidents to identify and address key risk factors.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.
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