COLOMBO (NewsRadio); The government has decided to provide compensation to the families of those who were killed in last week’s Nanu Oya road accident.
The decision was taken by the Cabinet of Ministers last evening. Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeevan Thondaman said when the Cabinet met under the auspices of President Ranil Wickremesinghe a decision was taken to compensate the families once the final report on the incident is submitted by the Government Analyst.
Minister Jeevan Thondaman said he also called for a thorough investigation over the incident.
A total of seven people died while 53 others sustained injuries in Friday’s accident.
Police confirmed that three children, aged eight, 12 and 13 were among the seven persons who died in the accident in Nanu Oya.
Police said a group of students from a prominent boy’s school in Colombo were travelling to Colombo from Nuwara-Eliya following an excursion when one of the buses transporting the students was involved in the accident.
Police Media Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said the bus collided with a parked van and the van rammed into a three-wheeler resulting in the bus falling 30 metres into a precipice.
The driver reportedly lost control of the bus which resulted in the accident.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the recklessness of the bus driver led to the accident.
Subsequently, the 62-year-old driver of the bus was arrested and remanded until the 1st of February.
Meanwhile, following the accident, the Nuwara Eliya District Secretary, Nandana Galaboda announced that heavy vehicles have been temporarily prevented from entering the Radella Shortcut Road along the Nuwara-Eliya-Hatton Road.
Galaboda said vehicles have accordingly been temporarily prevented from entering the said road from the 21st of January.
The District Secretary said he made a request to the Nanu Oya Police to temporarily suspend heavy vehicles from entering the road as several accidents have been reported along the road.
Heavy vehicles were not permitted to use the Shortcut Road in question previously, however, they began using the road once again after it was carpeted and built properly.
