National
Polytechnic institute mourns loss of students and teachers
Shahid Krishna Sen Ichchhuk Polytechnic Institute in Ghorahi, Dang, is in deep mourning following the loss of nineteen students and two teachers in Friday’s bus crash.Durga Lal KC
Shahid Krishna Sen Ichchhuk Polytechnic Institute in Ghorahi, Dang, is in deep mourning following the loss of nineteen students and two teachers in Friday’s bus crash.
Yadav Subedi, principal of the institute, said the entire teaching and management staff of the institute has been greatly affected by the tragedy.
“Out of 37 students in the institute, 33 were on that bus. Accompanied by two teachers, they had gone to Kapurkot in Salyan for a field practical class. We lost 19 brilliant students and two invaluable members of our teaching staff. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and friends in this moment of grief,” Subedi said.
District Police Office, Dang, said altogether 23 people died in the crash and 14 people sustained injuries. Among the injured, 12 were taken to Kathmandu for treatment.
Police said 11 of the deceased students were from Jumla district while the others were from the districts of Dang, Jajarkot, Bajura, Bajhang, Dolpa and Kanchanpur.
Udam Nepali lost his 17-year-old son Atish in the tragedy. Atish had left his home in Jajarkot district to study forestry at the institute.
“I had a dream of one day seeing my son become an expert in the field of forestry. Look what has happened now. Things will never be the same again. Nothing is left for me now,” bemoaned the father who had arrived in Dang to receive the body of his teenage son on Saturday.
Police have listed the names of the dead students as Arjun Shahi, Bipana Khatri, Rupesh Shahi, Ritendra Shahi, Devi Prasad Upadhyay, Hikmat Bohara, Kusum Rawal, Shailaja Shahi, Junga Bahadur BK, Ramesh Upadhyay and Birendra Kandara of Jumla; Sanjit Ratgaiya, Bijaya GM and Kabita Khatri of Dang, Atish Nepali of Jajarkot, Gajendra Aidi of Dolpa, Khemraj Bhatta of Kanchanpur, Mahesh Joshi of Bajhang and Lokendra Rawal of Rawal.
The deceased teachers are Pradeep Ghimire of Dang and Naresh Oli of Rukum (East).
Bus driver Madan KC and his assistant Ganesh BK, both of them natives of Dang, also lost their lives in the accident.
The fatal crash occurred when the bus (Ba 4 Kha 9766) fell nearly 700 metres down the road at Ramri along the Tulsipur-Salyan road section at around 4:45pm on Friday.
Superintendent of Police Bel Bahadur Pandey said the bus had fallen from the road section that is narrow with a sharp bend. “We suspect that speed might have caused the accident,” he said.