Mass cremation of 24 Mah bus mishap victims held

District Correspondent

BULDHANA,

THE 24 victims of the Vidarbha Travel’s bus, that crashed on the Samruddhi Highway, while travelling from Nagpur to Pune, were cremated in a mass cremation ceremony at a crematorium, in Buldhana on Sunday at 12.30 pm. Minister Girish Mahajan lighted the funeral pyre. On this occasion Minister Girish Mahajan, MP Prataprao Jadhav, Ramdas Tadas, MLA Akash Fundkar, Shweta Mahale, Sanjay Gaikwad, Collector Dr HP Tummod, Chief Executive Officer Bhagyashree Vispute, District Superintendent of Police Sunil Kadasane and others were present. As most of the victims were charred beyond recognition after the bus caught fire in the early hours of Saturday, efforts were made to convince their families for mass cremation of the bodies instead of their DNA analysis, the official said. The DNA testing is a lengthy procedure which may take days to ascertain the identity of the deceased, as per sources. The mass cremation was held at Vaikunth Dham Hindu Smashan Bhoomi in Buldhana on Sunday. The mass cremation was organised after a discussion with relatives of all the deceased. After getting consent of the relatives, the funeral was conducted jointly by the district administration.

The deceased, who were cremated, were Tejas Pokale of Wardha, Karan Budhbawre of Wardha, Vrishali Vankar of Pune, Shobha Vankar of Pune, Ovi Vankar of Pune, Ishan Gupta of Nagpur, Sujal Sonawane of Yavatmal, Tanisha Prashant Taide of Wardha, Tejaswini Raut of Wardha, Kailas Gangawane of Pune, Kanchan Gangawane of Pune, Sai Gangawane of Pune, Sanjivani Shankarao Gote of Wardha, Sushil Khelkar of Wardha, Rhea Somkuwar of Nagpur, Kaustubh Kale of Nagpur, Rajshree Gandole of Wardha, Manisha Bahale of Washim, Sanjay Bahale of Washim, Radhika Mahesh Khadse of Wardha, Shreya Vivek Vanjari of Wardha, Prathamesh Prashant Khode of Wardha, Avanti Parimal Pohnekar of Wardha and Nikhil Pate of Yavatmal.

Along with this the body of Zoya Sheikh of Nagpur, was burried following the appropriate rituals in Buldhana. On this occasion Minister Girish Mahajan expressed condolences. He said, “The incident that happened is very unfortunate and it is not possible to console in words. The relatives are facing the grief with patience. Only 4 bodies were identified from the accident. But as 21 dead bodies were not identified, as all the relatives agreed, it was decided to cremate them together.” The Central and State Government expressed condolences to the families of those who died in the accident. The remains were given to the relatives of the deceased to follow the further rituals. Mahajan assured that, strict action will be taken in this regard and he also assured to ensure that such accidents do not happen again. MP Ramdas Tadas also expressed grief on the occasion. The citizens present paid tribute by observing silence for two minutes.