Manipur govt bans school excursions after seven girl students killed in road accident

Manipur: Schools have been instructed not to conduct any excursions until January 10, 2023, owing to morning fog and to avoid any untoward incident, according to an official statement published by the Directorate of Education, Government of Manipur. According to the news agency ANI, seven kids were killed in a bus accident and 40 others were injured in Manipur's Noney district. “It is directed to all Principals/ Head Masters/ Head Mistresses of all Government/ Government Aided/ Private Unaided Schools in the State not to organise/ conduct school excursions till 10.01.2023, with immediate effect, to avoid any untoward incidents,” read the order issued by the Directorate of Education.

In view of a school bus accident due to morning fog/mist, schools should not conduct excursions till 10th Jan 2023 to avoid any untoward incidents: Directorate of Education, Govt of Manipur pic.twitter.com/mdBk2bDmEw

— ANI (@ANI) December 21, 2022

The victims were students of the Thambalnu Higher Secondary School located at Yairipok Top Chingtha area in Imphal East. “An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased in the bus accident. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.” “Anguished by the loss of lives in Manipur's Noney district due to a tragic bus accident. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover soon. The Manipur government is providing all possible assistance to those affected,” said PM. 

Anguished by the loss of lives in Manipur's Noney district due to a tragic bus accident. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope the injured recover soon. The Manipur government is providing all possible assistance to those affected: PM @narendramodi — PMO India (@PMOIndia) December 21, 2022

According to local media sources, severe fog and low visibility were the key causes of the accident. Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh expressed his condolences to the students' families via Twitter. In another incident, at least eight girl students and a warden were killed, and approximately 40 students and teachers were injured, several of them gravely, after a school bus overturned in Manipur's Bishnupur district on Wednesday, said the police.

The bus carrying the female students and some professors flipped over while negotiating a turn on the Old Cachar Road near Longsai, killing at least five students and wounding 44 others. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department anticipated intense fog over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, north Rajasthan, Bihar, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, south Assam, Manipur, and Tripura within the next two days.