Families of Balrath employees killed in 2012 and 2016 still wait for compensation

PONDA: The bus driver and attendant of a Balrath bus, along with a school girl who was travelling on the Balrath bus, were killed in 2012 when an ore-laden mining truck dashed against the bus carrying around nine students, in Usgao.

Again in 2016, there was another fatal accident between Balrath bus and a private company bus, where, the Balrath Bus Driver from Usgao died in an accident. But even after all these years, the families of the Balrath employees haven’t got any compensation.

 Recalling the 2012 Balrath bus tragic accident Shivkumar Naik, general secretary of the United Balarath Employees Association (UBEA) said, people still haven’t not forgotten that accident.

He said the physical and financial security of Balarath employees and their families need to be protected as they are financially weak.

He said UBEA made several representations to the government asking for compensation to the families of both employees. But nothing has happened till now.

“Despite making a lot of efforts, the families of deceased bus drivers and the attendant did not get any compensation from the government. They should be given compensation on humanitarian grounds,” he said.

He said the Balarath employees had started their duty decades ago with poor salaries so families of the deceased need financial support.

“In 2016, our Association contributed to giving financial help to the families of 2012 accident victims. But, there has been no such step from the government,” Naik said.

Shivkumar also drew attention towards the fact that as per government direction, the buses are meant for transportation of all the government-aided high schools, higher secondary schools and Special Schools recognised by the Directorate of Education.

“But the management of some of the schools direct Balarath employees to pick up and drop students of kindergarten (KG) schools operated by them. He said since the students are small children, in case a driver applies a brake in an emergency, it becomes risky for them as they are not able to hold on to their seats to protect themselves,” he added.