MANISH RAJ
Deoghar, April 18: The Deoghar district administration organized a function on Monday where the kin of deceased persons in the Trikut Ropeway tragedy was handed over a cheque of Rs. 5 lakhs as compensation.
The Trikut Ropeway tragedy happened on April 10 where 3 people lost their lives and several others were injured. The contribution of locals other than the most talked about hero Panna Lal Panjiyara was also recognised in the function organised at the conference hall at Deoghar collectorate.
The function was attended by Jharkhand Tourism Minister Hafizul Hassan, Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh, Deogarh MLA Narayan Das and ex-minister Suresh Paswan among many others.
The recipients of the compensation amount were Asha, wife of Rakesh Mandal who lost his life during the rescue operation by falling off the chopper.
The second recipient was Deepali Devi, the relative of Somanti Devi who was the first deceased of the ropeway tragedy. Somati succumbed to the injury in her eye and died late at night during treatment. And the third was Gaurav Kumar, the son of the third deceased Shobha who also fell during the rescue operation as the rope attached to the chopper broke.
Apart from them, the locals who have been appreciated for their selfless service from the very beginning were also recognised officially.
44 locals were honoured with a citation and shawl jointly by the prominent guests.
During the function, Asha (wife of Rakesh Mandal) demanded a government job for taking care of her child. On this, Minister Hafijzul Hassan assured her to grant the job after the Panchayat election. He also conveyed the message of Chief Minister Hemant Soren to support the family members who lost their loved ones in this tragedy.
Talking to the media, Agriculture Minister Badal Patralekh thanked the CM and top officials who were continuously monitoring the rescue operation. He also thanked the locals who voluntarily stood up with the local administration in such a challenging situation. He confirmed the compensation granted to the family members of the deceased today and assured them that the state government will be with them even afterwards.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Hafizul Hassan has categorically denied any compensation granted by the operating company of the Trikut Ropeway received by the local administration in the name of the deceased in the tragedy that occurred on April 10 in Deoghar.
When questioned by the media, he flatly refused to comment on the matter, even though local MP Dr Nishikant Dubey claimed on his Facebook page that the ropeway operating company had given the district administration Rs. 25 lakhs as compensation for each deceased.
The minister also admitted that the tragedy had been underestimated previously, but that the disaster’s gravity was revealed following a coordinated rescue mission by the Air Force, the ITBP, and the NDRF. Hassan acknowledged that it was a difficult task.
He also lauded Deoghar DC Manjunath Bhanjantri for his devotion and patience in the face of adversity, comparing him to a borewell machine operator who maintains an eye on his aim to extract water from the ground.
