INJURED PILGRIMS WITH SUJATHA ATTANAYAKE’S SISTER RETURN

The bus in which the pilgrims travelled in India had toppled
One pilgrim lady had returned by losing an arm below her elbow

12 pilgrims including Sujatha Attanayake’s sister have been injured had returned to Sri Lanka.
The time has now arrived to get confirmation regarding the responsibility and the safety the reputation of the organisers of these pilgrimages. A group of pilgrims had been driven off in bus by an incompetent person who is not a driver in India’s Uttra Pradesh. Owing to the incumbency of the diver the bus topples by not been able to control the wheel by this person who is not a driver. It was reported that the 12 persons who travelled in that ramshackle bus had been seriously injured.
In this accident one pilgrim had lost one arm. It is reported that the popular Singer Sujatha Attanayake who was also in this group too has sustained injuries. It was later made known that the bus had been driven by the owners son. The permanent driver had stressed that as he felt tired he had allowed his son to take over the wheel. After the accident when the bus had gone down in to a precipice the organisers’ of the pilgrimage had not taken any action and remained silent.
The party had consisted of 13 devotees had left Sri Lanka on the 7th of February to Chennai. From there they had travelled by train to Delhi. They had been taken to ‘Agra’ in this ill fated bus.The pilgrims had told that they knew that the driver was incompetent person. Out of the 13 devotees 12 had been seriously injured. One devotee had lost one arm from the position of her elbow. The pilgrims were from the kelaniya and Kurunegala areas.
After the accident it had been revealed that as promised the insurance cover had not been obtained by the organisers. Hence the injured pilgrims had to pay their medical expenses from the money they had taken along.
Each pilgrim had been charged a sum of Rs 80,000/- each for the pilgrim and they had not been able to worship a single centre but were forced to return with injuries. After spending for the treatment they were confronted with another grave problem. As they had pay for the passage back they had exhausted the money they had for medical expenses. However a Buddhist monk living in India Ven.Pallegama Vijitha thera had made a personal contribution had also spoken to the ‘Mihin Lanka’ airline authorities and had obtained rebated tickets for them to travel back to Sri Lanka.
Accordingly the injured pilgrims returned to Sri Lanka. A devotee from Kurunegala who lost her hand Digiri Menike Mathawa was also there along with the sister of famous singer’s Sujatha Attanayake’s Sister Ranjini Perera also a popular singer also were amongst the injured who returned. This pilgrimage had been arranged by a person in Kolonnawa B.H.M.W Bandara who had confessed that such an incident had never taken place before. it was stated by him that he had sent 73 groups on pilgrimages to India and no incident was reported.from this accident he too had sustained injuries. When the media questioned about not insuring of the pilgrims he evaded giving an answer.

Photographs by Deepa Adhikari courtesy of Daily Mirror