The bus heading towards Jog — that was resonating with songs rendered by students of Ramappa Naikar High School of Antaravalli village in Haveri taluk — was filled with screams and cries after it overturned on National Highway 206 near Choorikatte village.
Kavitha Basavaraj Poojar, a class 9 student, said that she was playing antakshari with her friends at the time of the accident. “All of a sudden, I heard a loud noise and was thrown of my seat. Before I could realise what had happened, passers-by opened the door and rescued us,” she said. After reaching Sagar, she took the mobile phone of a hospital staff and called her parents. “My father is heading towards Sagar to take me home,” she said.
Kavya Hulakoti, a class 10 student said that the path from Sigandur to Jog is picturesque. “I was enjoying the beauty of the Sharavati river and the pristine forest through the window of the bus. All of a sudden the vehicle rolled like a giant wheel and slipped into the gorge along the road,” she said.
The glass splinters from the broken window of the bus have hit a few students. Kumar, a class 10 student, who has suffered multiple fractures, has been shifted to the Government McGann Hospital in Shivamogga for additional treatment. He was seen pleading with the doctors to take measures to ensure his speedy recovery. “As SSLC exam is considered as the turning point in one’s life, I had chalked out a study plan at the commencement of the academic year. I used to study for six hours a day. This injury has disturbed my plan,” he said.
The students have also appreciated the service extended by Mohammed Ali, Suheil, and Masoor Iqbal, members of Sagar unit of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, in the rescue operation. On seeing the bus overturn, the members of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, who were returning from Jog to Sagar, stopped their car. With the help of locals, they helped the students to come out of the vehicle. They even shifted some of the injured to the hospital in their vehicles.
Imran, a resident of Choorikatte, blamed unscientific road humps as reason for the accident. Though the local residents have staged several protests in the past to remove the road humps, no action was taken, he said.
