Chhattisgarh road accidents and related incidents killed at least nine people and injured more than 40 across the state, including six deaths in a passenger-bus crash in Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district, according to a report by The Times of India. The incidents were reported across MCB, Bastar and Raigarh districts.
The deadliest crash took place around noon on Thursday when a private passenger bus travelling from Manendragarh towards Kelhari veered off the road and hit a tree at the Semarmathani bend near Pahadhanswahi village, about seven kilometres from Kelhari. Six people, including two girls aged nine and 12 and the bus owner, died in the crash. More than 40 passengers were injured, including children.
Police and local residents helped evacuate the passengers and took them to the Kelhari community health centre. The injured were admitted to hospitals in Manendragh and Chirmiri, while some continued to receive treatment at Kelhari. Five injured people, including the bus driver, were reported to be in serious condition. A pregnant woman was referred to Ambikapur Medical College after doctors reported that her unborn baby had died.
Preliminary accounts suggested that a possible steering failure may have contributed to the bus leaving the road, but the cause had not been established. The report did not cite a final investigation finding or an official determination of mechanical failure.
A separate fatal incident occurred in Jagdalpur during the Bastar Dussehra celebrations on Wednesday night. One man, identified as Koparam Kashyap of Surguda village in Bastanar block, died after coming under the massive eight-wheeled Vijay Rath during the Bhitar Raini ritual. Two other people were seriously injured. One was identified as Sukhram Mandavi of Lohandiguda, while the identity of the other injured person had not been established.
The chariot is pulled by tribal villagers as part of rituals associated with Maa Danteshwari. Thousands of tribal villagers, devotees and visitors gather for Bastar Dussehra, making crowd regulation and maintaining a safe distance around the chariot’s wheels a critical operational challenge. The incident was reported a day before President Droupadi Murmu’s scheduled visit to Jagdalpur for the Muria Darbar and other festival-related programmes.
Two more deaths were reported in separate crashes in Raigarh district. In Kharsia, 24-year-old Piyush Chauhan died at the spot after the scooter he was travelling on collided with an oncoming motorcycle on Chhote Mudpar main road. His friends, Devendra Sahis and Akash Mahant, were injured and taken to hospital. Police registered a case against the motorcycle rider and began investigating the collision.
In another incident under Chhal police station, Shobha Dhanwar of Kharra died after his motorcycle left the road and struck a tree. Villagers found him on Thursday morning and informed the police. Investigations into the Raigarh crashes and the MCB bus accident were continuing.
