Only sister left to mourn 6 deaths
No one and nothing could soothe Anwara Begum. Her loss is unspeakable. The only sister of seven brothers, she lost her six brothers in Monday's road accident in Natore.
The other brother, who narrowly escaped death, is now in a hospital with injuries.
"My six dearest brothers went into eternal sleep... How can I forget those sweet memories?” Anwara, aged about 50, wailed as she struggled for words.
The six brothers, all day labourers, lived in a small village called Shidhuli in Gurudaspur of Natore. They are Atahar, 57, Raihan, 55, Rabbel, 48, Sohrab, 45, Sohir, 42, and Kohir, 40. They died on the spot while their other brother Rahman is undergoing treatment at Patwari General Hospital in Baraigram upazila.
Yesterday, the air in their home was heavy. Family members stood in silence, sobbing.
"My husband used to pull a rickshaw-van. I do not know how to raise my three children," said Nasima Begum, widow of Sohir.
Mehera Khatun, widow of Kohir, said her husband was a farmer. "Oh Allah, please save us."
But it is not only Anwara's family that is broke. The entire Shidhuli village is in mourning. Of the 33 people killed in Monday's tragic accident, 12 are from this village -- the six brothers and six other villagers.
The accident happened at Rijur intersection on Bonpara-Hatikumrul highway when a Rajshahi-bound bus from Dhaka overtook a truck and collided head-on with a Gurudaspur-bound local bus coming from the opposite direction.
"We never saw so many bodies at a time. We cannot take this pain,” said septuagenarian Aftab Ali Pramanik.
Only hours before the accident, Majedul Islam arrived home from the United Arab Emirates. He was waiting for his father's arrival. Instead, it was his father's body that people brought home.
"I wanted to eat my launch with my father. But I was not that lucky,” he said.
According to the list prepared by the local administration, 31 of the victims are from several villages of Gurudaspur and Baraigram upazilas. The two others are from Feni and Kushtia.
ACCIDENT-PRONE
Though the number of accidents on the Bonpara-Hatikumrul highway has been on the rise, Monday's crash broke all the previous records, said highway police.
As many as 20 people were killed in 37 road mishaps in a stretch of 27 kilometres of the 60-km highway from November 2012 to September this year. Seven spots were identified as the most accident-prone spots, said Abdus Samad, assistant sub-inspector of Bonpara Highway Police Station.
The spots are Augran intersection, Rijur intersection, Razzakker Mor, Chalanbeel Mor, Noyabazar Point, Kasikata Point and Bypass intersection of the highway.
"There are huge bends in these intersections, but drivers often drive recklessly," said Samad.
Meanwhile, the team headed by Additional District Magistrate Khan Mohammed Ali yesterday started inquiring the accident.
"We recorded statements of some witnesses and the injured. We also visited the spot. We will submit the report in three days," he said.
The inquiry team confirmed that Alam Sheikh, the driver of the local bus, died but could not ascertain the fate of the other driver.
Omor Faruk, officer-in-charge of Gurudaspur Police Station, said the bus Alam Sheikh was driving did not have the fitness certificate.
Also yesterday, Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus expressed deep shock at the tragic deaths of so many people and offered his condolences to their bereaved families.
In a statement released by the Yunus Centre, he also called on the authorities concerned to ensure the treatment of the injured.
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