In a tragic accident in Kasganj, 24 villagers, including eight children, were killed while 10 others were injured when a tractor-trolley they were travelling in fell into a pond on Saturday morning.
The group was en route to the river Ganga for a holy bath to mark the auspicious occasion of Maghi Purnima' early on Saturday morning.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have expressed grief at the loss of lives in the incident.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the family members of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those who suffered injuries in the accident.
“The loss of lives in a road accident in Kasganj district is extremely heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved family,” Yogi wrote in a post on his official X handle.
“District administration officials have been instructed to provide proper, free treatment to all the injured. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant peace to the departed souls and speedy recovery to the injured,” he added.
Inspector General of Aligarh Range Shalabh Mathur confirmed the deaths in the mishap, saying eight children and seven women among the deceased. He said the tractor-trolley was coming from Jaithara in Etah district.
The accident occurred when the tractor driver lost control while trying to avoid a car, causing the trolley to overturn into a seven to eight-foot-deep mud-filled pond on Patiali Dariyav Ganj road in Patiali area of Kasganj.
According to Superintendent of Police of Kasganj, Aparna Rajat, those who died in the accident had been identified as Shakuntala Devi (70), wife of Veerpal; Usama (24) wife of Shivam; Meera (65) wife of Digvijay Singh Chauhan; Sapna (22) wife of Gaurav, her son Sidhu (2); Pushpa (45), wife of Satyendra’ Shivam (30), his daughter Devasi (6); Diksha (19), daughter of Rajneesh; Rajneesh’s wife Gayatri (52); Shyam Lata (40), wife of Ranveer; Sunaina (10), daughter of Harish; Guddi (75), wife of Khunni Lal; Kuldeep (7), son of Mukesh; Mukut's wife Anjali (24), his daughter Sandhya (5) and son Laddu (3); Shivangi (25) wife of Rajesh; Rajesh's son Kartik (4) and daughter Payal (2-months); Meera (55), wife of Rajpal; and Javit (25) wife of Sanjeev; Guddi (75).
Two bodies were yet to be identified, police said.
