Athagarh: As many as 20 persons were injured after the bus they were travelling in overturned while trying to save a moped rider at Ankula near here in Cuttack district Saturday.
Locals and fire personnel broke open the window panes of the bus and rescued the injured passengers and admitted them to Athagarh hospital. The condition of five of them including the moped rider was found critical. They were shifted to Cuttack-based SCB Medical College and Hospital.
The mishap flared up tension among locals who burnt tyres and staged a blockade on State Highway-65. They claimed that mishaps have become a regular feature due to delay in expansion of the road. Police rushed to the spot and tried to placate the irate locals, but in vain. Later, sub-collector Pramod Kumar Baske and SDPO Krutibas Jena held talks with the agitators.
The mishap occurred when the bus from Narsinghpur was on its way to Cuttack with over 30 passengers on board. The bus had reached Ankula when the driver suddenly steered the vehicle to the left to save a moped rider. As a result, the driver lost his control over the vehicle. All the bus staff fled the scene after the mishap.
Locals alleged the reconstruction and expansion works of the highway are being carried out from Khuntuni to Narsinghpur for which the implementing agency has dug out both sides of the road resulting in regular mishaps. Moreover, slow pace of work has only compounded the troubles of the commuters, they added. PNN