Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a financial aid of Rs 5 lakh for the families of those from Jalgaon who perished in a bus accident in Nepal, which resulted in 27 fatalities in western Nepal on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his condolences earlier in the day, noting that the Indian government quickly reached out to Nepalese officials following the accident. “I would like to express my grief over the Nepal bus accident. Among those who lost their lives, several were from Jalgaon. I offer my condolences to all the bereaved families,” PM Modi said during his speech at the Lakhpati Didi Sammelan in Jalgaon on Sunday.
He assured that the injured were receiving proper medical attention. “As soon as this accident occurred, the government immediately reached out to the Nepalese authorities. We instructed our minister, Raksha Khadse, to go to Nepal without delay. We have brought back the bodies of our deceased citizens on a special Air Force plane,” PM Modi added. He also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the families of those who died, and Rs 50,000 for the injured, according to the PMO.
The Indian Air Force’s C-130 J aircraft, which transported the remains of 25 Indian pilgrims killed in the accident, landed at Jalgaon Airport in Maharashtra on Saturday. The aircraft had been to Bharatpur city in Chitwan district, close to the crash site in Tanahun district.
The accident happened when the bus went off the road and fell into a river basin. Chief District Officer of Chitwan, Indradev Yadav, noted that two of the bodies were sent to Gorakhpur by road. Autopsies were performed at Bharatpur Hospital before the bodies were brought to India.
Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Nikhil Khadse, and Maharashtra legislator Sanjay Shubhakar arrived in Nepal on Saturday morning to check on the injured. Both officials returned on the same aircraft. Khadse visited the 16 injured individuals receiving treatment at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu and received updates on their condition.
Khadse expressed gratitude to the Nepalese government for its prompt response in the rescue operations and the care provided to the injured. She also acknowledged the efforts of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu for their coordination with Nepalese authorities. The bus was traveling from Pokhara to Kathmandu when it skidded off the road and plunged about 150 meters into the river at Ainapahara in ward 2 of the rural municipality.