Rajendra Singh Rajput, a native of Panna district in Madhya Pradesh, still can't believe that his father, the family's sole breadwinner, died in a bus accident in Uttarakhand during the Char Dham pilgrimage.
Rajput is currently in a state of shock, staring at an uncertain future, and does not know how their family would cope up with the loss.
Similar is the fate of two siblings, who lost their father in the bus tragedy in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Sunday.
A Ramlila actor, who used to attract huge crowds with his performance in a village in Panna, was also killed in the accident and his fans are now grief-stricken.
The family members of 26 people from Madhya Pradesh, who were killed in the Uttarakhand accident, cannot believe that the pilgrimage met with a tragic end.
Four people were also injured after the bus carrying pilgrims from Panna district in MP fell into a deep gorge near Rikhavu khadd en-route to the Yamunotri temple in Uttarkashi on Sunday.
Besides the driver and the helper, there were 28 passengers on board.
Rajendra Rajput, a resident of Santbuddhasingh village in Panna, told PTI that he spoke to his father, who had gone on the pilgrimage, over phone around 11 am on Sunday.
"They all were happy and were on the way to Yamunotri. But, when I again called my father around 5 pm to know about their location, the call remained unanswered. I tried four-five times and when nobody answered, I got worried," he said.
"Later, when I tried my father's number again, one Uday Singh Thakur (an accident survivor) picked up the call and told me that their bus had fallen into a deep gorge. Thakur told me that he got thrown out of the bus before it fell in the gorge and survived. Thakur also told me that my father's phone was with him and that everything was finished," Rajput said in a choked voice.
Unable to believe what he had heard, Rajput called up Panna Collector Sanjay Mishra to confirm the tragic news.
The collector tried to console him and said the tehsildar (revenue officer) will meet him.
The collector also told him not to go anywhere for seeking assistance as the government was making arrangements for bringing the bodies to their native places, he said.
"My father was the head of the family comprising six members. He was the sole earning member. We will have to manage without him now," Rajput said.
Jagat Singh Rajput, from Kakrahta village here, said he lost his elder brother in the tragedy.
"My brother has a son and a daughter and they were dependent on farming for their livelihood," he said.
Banke Bihari, from Mohandra village, who was a popular Ramlila performer, also died in the accident.
"He played many roles in the Ramlila and was a versatile actor. Wherever he stood in the village, people would gather to listen to him. He used to make everyone laugh. He was a noble person," Bihari's close associate Vijay Shankar said.
Collector Mishra said people from nine villages in Panna and a village from Chattarpur district had gone on the pilgrimage.
"They all went on May 21 on a tour of various places, including Maihar, Chitrakoot, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Kathmandu, Janakpur and reached Haridwar two-three days back. They got permission for the Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand on Sunday. Unfortunately, their bus fell into the deep gorge," he said.
An Indian Air Force aircraft carrying the 26 bodies will reach Khajuraho (nearest airport from Panna) in Madhya Pradesh, state Bharatiya Janata Party president and parliamentarian from Khajuraho, VD Sharma, told PTI over phone.
Sharma reached Dehradun on Monday morning to oversee the arrangements for shifting the bodies of victims from his constituency. He will be travelling in the IAF plane carrying the mortal remains of the pilgrims and will ensure that the bodies are sent to their native places.
MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan along with state minister Bijendra Pratap Singh, director general of police Sudhir Saxena and and other senior officials had gone to Dehradun on Sunday night.
The CM had on Sunday announced that Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.
He had also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of those killed in the bus accident and Rs 50,000 to the injured persons.
