The police vehicle that reached Emmehatti in Bhadravathi taluk around 5.30 a.m. on Friday, woke up the residents of the village to the shocking news of an accident in Haveri district, in which 13 people from the village died. The tempo-traveller belonging to Adarsha, 25, of Emmehatti, rammed into a truck parked roadside near Gundenahalli near Byadagi, leaving 13 dead and four injured.
Byadagi police had informed Hole Honnur police about the incident and asked them to convey the message to the family members of the deceased. “We have not yet come out of the shock. All of them were expected to return safe by this morning. But we are expecting their bodies to arrive,” said Shankar, a resident of Emmehatti, and a relative of the dead.
Adarsha, who had been into driving taxis for the last six years, recently purchased a pre-owned Tempo Traveler. He had arranged the trip to Chincholi Mayamma Temple, Savadatti Ellamma Temple in Belagavi, and Lakshmi Devi Temple in Maharashtra as it was a custom in the families to offer pooja to the family deities after purchasing a new vehicle. Along with his family members, he invited his grandmother, and close relatives to join him on the trip.
“All 17 people left on June 24 at midnight. As per the initial plan, they were scheduled to return by Friday morning and hold a feast at home as it was part of the pilgrimage. It seems Adarsh was in a hurry as he had another trip to cover the same day,” pointed out Nagaraj, also a relative.
Residents of Emmehatti, D.B. Halli, Hanumanthapura, and Shivamogga – all relatives – were on the trip. Among them, 13 died and four suffered injuries.
The deceased are Adarsha, 25, his father Nageshwara Rao, 50, mother Vishalakshi, 49, and his grandmother Subhadra Bai, 65. Lone survivor in the family is Arpitha, 17, a physically challenged person, suffered injuries in the incident.
Adarsha’s aunt Bhagya Bai, 45, and her daughter Manasa, a blind football player, also residents of Emmehatti, died. His aunt Manjula Bai, 60, of D.B. Halli, a neighbouring village, her son Aruna, 32, daughter Anjali, 29, and Anjali’s children Arya, 5, Nandan, 3 died. Anjali and her children are residents of Birur.
The other two who died in the incident are Rupa Bai, a resident of Shivamogga and Manjula of Hanumanthapura. Besides Arpitha, Annapurna, 52, Parashuram, 48, and Goutham, 12, suffered injuries. Goutham is undergoing treatment in Davangere.
Soon after learning about the incident, around 20 of the villagers left for Haveri to bring the bodies, while the rest of the village spent the day waiting for the arrival of the bodies. The government school declared a holiday as no child was in the mood to attend the classes.
The villagers made arrangements on the school playground to keep the bodies for public viewing. By 6.30 p.m. nine bodies reached the village. Three were sent to Birur and one to Hanumanthapura.
