Rajasthan accident: Dihor in distress, bids adieu to 10 pilgrims of the village

The 10 whose last rites were performed in Dihor were identified as Anantrai Jani (55), Nandaram Jani (68), Lallu Jani (50), Bharat Parmar (45), Lalji Gohel (26), Amba Bariya (55), Kamu Makwana (56), Ramuben Dabhi (50), Anju Gohel (49), and Kalluben Gohel (60).  “The other two victims, Madhuben Dabhi (46) and Madhuben alias Kanku Chudasama (50) are residents of Paniyali village of Talaja taluka and Bhavnagar city respectively. We have handed over their bodies to their families for last rites,” added the mamlatdar.

The 12 were part of a group of 57 pilgrims and seven support staff who were headed to UP when their bus was rammed by a speeding truck from behind on Jaipur-Agra highway in Bharatpur in Rajasthan on Wednesday morning. Madhuben Dabhi was a native of Dihor but her marital home is in Paniyali village. Thus, all the pilgrims hailed from Dihor and the support staff was hired by Kartik Tours and Travels, a private tour operator of Bhavnagar city.

Gautam Chauhan, BJP MLA from Talaja, Bhavnagar MP Bharti Shiyal’s husband Dr Dhirubhai Shiyal, as well as Mamlatdar Gohil, Talaja’s taluka development officer (TDO) Dulabhai Ladumor were among those who joined the mass funeral in Dihor.

Meanwhile, a bus from Rajasthan picked up the 36 pilgrims who survived the crash and dropped them to Dihor village on Thursday, and the 10 others who were injured continued to be hospitalised.

Survivors said their luxury bus developed a fault and came to halt on a flyover at Hantra in Bharatpur. While the bus driver was fixing the bus, a truck trailer crashed into it from behind, killing 11 on the spot and injuring 11 others. One of the injured later succumbed in Bharatpur hospital.

The TDO said that Chudasama was accompanying the pilgrims as a cook.

The atmosphere was sombre in Dihor, a village with a population of around 14,000, as the 11 bodies arrived together. “A deep sorrow has gripped the village since we got the tragic news on Wednesday morning. Hardly anyone has lit a fire in the kitchen since. Ours is a village with a strong bond of community and everyone is in deep distress. Even Muslims joined the mass funeral,” Pravin Makwana, a village leader whose wife Rekha is sarpanch of Dihor, said over the phone.

Pravin further said they had to clear vegetation from the crematorium with earthmovers and tractors to make more space to light 11 pyres.

Pravin was among Dihor leaders who went to the Gujarat-Rajasthan border at Shamlaji to receive the bodies. “A deputy collector from Rajasthan handed over the bodies to us and corrected the names of victims in records of the Rajasthan government on the spot, after we furnished them documents,” said Makwana.