50 injured as bus falls into gorge

MYSORE: Fifty persons were injured, 10 of them seriously when the bus they were travelling in from B R Hills to Agara village in Yalandur turned turtle near Govi Bore in B R Hills.The villagers of Agara were returning after attending a wedding of Shantharaju and Mala at Biligiri Ranganathaswamy temple. The bus turned turtle and fell into a gorge when the driver lost control over the vehicle. Locals came to rescue the passengers. While, Krishna, Basamma, Rathnamma, Jothi, Jayamma, Venkatesh Nayak, Rajamma, Shanthi, Mamatha and Nagesh have been shifted to K R Hospital. As the Ambulance reached late, local zilla panchayat member Mahadev Nayak saw to it that the injured were shifted in his own vehicle to Yalandur, Chamrajnagar. Zilla panchayat vice president Siddaraju also visited the spot.Need for strict regulationsThe B R Hills, a prominent tourist spot, has witnessed an increase in the number of accidents over the years. There are reports of four accidents killing six persons over the last couple of months as the vehicles pass through steep curves at Govi Bore.Illegal sale of liquor and local officials’ failure to ban animal sacrifice by hundreds of them on the streets in and around the temple has also polluted the area and has turned the hill station and temple into a picnic spot to dine with alcohol.Tourists and localites who come to enjoy weekends and during festivities consume liquor as it is illegally sold in petty shops. This has given room for an unhygienic atmosphere, rash driving and accidents.Though, the Forest Department has strictly banned the movement of vehicles after 6 pm, there is a need for strict regulation from the revenue, temple authorities and Police Department to ban animal sacrifice, hosting parties around the temple and on road sides and strictly regulate speed limits to see that B R Hills will is not a death trap for visitors.