Jaipur: Family members of the casualties in Tuesday’s bus fire in Manoharpur near Jaipur said most passengers aboard the ill-fated vehicle were migrant labourers travelling from Puranpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district to work at a brick kiln in Todi village.They barely got any time to escape after the bus hit the high-voltage power line, relatives said. Mohammad Ikrar, whose aunt Chanda and four other relatives are undergoing treatment at the burn ward of Sawai Mansingh Hospital, said his aunt had decided to travel to Rajasthan for seasonal work at a brick kiln. The brick-making season begins in winter and lasts four to five months.“They left Puranpur Monday night and were expecting to reach Jaipur safely by morning,” he said.Chanda’s daughter, Muskan, who was also travelling in the same bus, said passengers warned the driver not to drive under the electric wires, but he ignored them. “My mother was just stepping out when she got electrocuted and fell over,” she recalled. “Her face was charred,” Muskan said while recounting how she managed to save herself by jumping out of a window.Jaipur resident Mohammad Ayum said he received a call from Puranpur informing him that two of his relatives were among those injured in the accident. “I was shocked and didn’t know who to contact. When someone told me the injured had been taken to SMS Hospital, I rushed there and found Chanda admitted,” he said.“Ayum added that the bus had left Puranpur in UP around 9:30PM Monday. “Chanda had packed all her belongings for the months-long stay in Jaipur and was eagerly looking forward to returning home after winter,” he said.Another relative, Babu Lal, said passengers aboard the bus carried everything they needed for their extended stay. “This is seasonal employment, so families pack everything from utensils and bedding to other daily essentials for their long stay,” he said. “We never imagined such a tragedy would strike us,” he added.Another woman who survived the incident said three of her relatives sustained injuries. “It all happened in seconds; I was lucky to have been pulled out of the bus by someone,” she said.Police said the bodies of the two people killed in the accident would be handed over to their families after post-mortem examinations.An official said villagers rushed to the scene of the accident to rescue the injured and promptly reported the incident to authorities. “People were working in the fields when they heard screams. Moments later, explosions followed, and the bus went up in flames,” he said.
Journey ends in flames for migrant families coming from UP | Jaipur News
