Assam | Dergaon accident: PM Modi announces ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to kin of deceased

GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of each of the deceased of the horrific Dergaon accident in Assam.

Moreover, Rs 50,000 will be handed over to those injured in the accident at Dergaon in Assam.

“An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000,” PM Modi informed.

Announcing the compensation, PM Modi also said that he was “pained by the loss of lives due to a road mishap in Golaghat, Assam”.

“Condolences to the bereaved families,” PM Narendra Modi said while taking to social media platform X on Wednesday (January 03).

He added: “May the injured recover at the earliest.”

The Prime Minister further said that “the local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected.”

Tragedy struck early in the morning on Wednesday (January 03) when a bus collided head-on with a truck near Dergaon in Golaghat district of Assam.

At least 12 people are said to have been killed which includes five women and a minor boy, officials informed.

The bus with 45 picnic party passengers was heading towards Tinsukia, when it collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction on the under-construction national highway near Balijan area of Dergaon in Golaghat district of Assam.

According to initial reports coming in the highway construction authority created a diversion on the 4-lane road, leading to the truck entering the “wrong lane”.

“Foggy conditions made matters worse,” a local resident said.

Around 45 persons were traveling in the bus from Kamarbandha to Tinsukia’s Tilinga Temple and Dibrugarh’s Bogibeel for a New Year picnic.

“We are investigating the cause of the accident. We recently had a meeting with road safety experts from Delhi and NHDCL assured us that proper signage and other rectification work on the highway will be completed within a month. It is unfortunate that this happened today. But we can only tell more on how the accident happened after police and the authorities complete the investigation,” said Golaghat deputy commissioner P Uday Praveen.

The injured were rushed to the hospital for further treatment.