Bus carrying TMC workers for MGNREGA protest in Delhi returns to West Bengal after accident in Jharkhand

Eight passengers suffered minor injuries as the bus rammed into a dirt mound on the side of the road. This was the first of the more than 50 private buses arranged by the TMC to carry thousands of people to Delhi after a special train was cancelled.

By: Express News Service
Kolkata | Updated: October 1, 2023 12:48 PM IST

3 min read

This was the first of the more than 50 private buses hurriedly arranged by the TMC to carry thousands of people to Delhi for the protest. (Express Photos)

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One of the buses carrying Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers, office-bearers and rural employment guarantee scheme cardholders from West Bengal to Delhi reportedly met with an accident at Koderma in Jharkhand amid torrential rain Sunday morning.

According to the bus driver, at least eight people suffered minor injuries as the bus rammed into a dirt mound. The injured passengers were provided with first aid and the bus reportedly began its return journey to West Bengal.

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“There were 33 passengers from Purulia in the bus, and they decided to return home after the minor accident. There was a divider ahead. To avoid hitting it, I rammed the bus into a dirt mound on the side of the road. The passengers suffered minor injuries (due to the impact of the hit). Many on board had already gotten down at Durgapur before the accident,” the bus driver Madan Shaw told Indian Express over the phone.

This was the first of the more than 50 private buses hurriedly arranged by the TMC to carry thousands of people to Delhi for the protest set to begin at Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, against the alleged withholding of funds for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers. It left Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata around 1.10 pm Saturday and covered around 350 km, just over one-fifth of the 1,500 km by road from the West Bengal capital to the national capital, when the accident occurred.

The buses were arranged after the special train to Delhi the protesters planned to catch was cancelled by Eastern Railways and they were refunded. All the other buses except the one that met with the accident are reportedly on the way to Delhi.

From Saturday morning, the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata was packed with people selected to go to Delhi. The protesters had started gathering by Friday, anticipating taking the train, which later got cancelled.

On Monday, the top TMC leaders will pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. Other leaders and MGNREGA workers travelling by buses are expected to reach the national capital by Tuesday and the TMC has planned a grand protest at Jantar Mantar that day. A delegation will try to meet Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and submit a memorandum to him.

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