Assam announces Rs 9 lakh compensation for families of 26 killed in Kaziranga crash

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the next of kin of those killed in the road accident near Kaziranga on Friday would receive a total compensation of Rs 9 lakh each.

This includes Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, Rs 2 lakh from the Disaster and Revenue Department and Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

Twenty-six people were killed and 10 others injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a mini-bus on Friday.


Sarma, who visited the accident site in Kaziranga on Saturday, said an inquiry would be conducted to ascertain the cause of the accident. He added that the government would take a strict approach to enforcing traffic rules.

The chief minister said the government often faced public resistance when it enforced road safety rules strictly. He also cited the enforcement drive as one of the reasons the BJP lost the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 parliamentary elections.

Sarma made the remarks while responding to questions about Friday's accident near Kaziranga National Park, which claimed 26 lives and left 10 passengers injured.

"I admit that there are issues with traffic rule enforcement. When we enforce the rules strictly, people do not like it. The government faces criticism, with people alleging that the drive is aimed at collecting revenue through fines because the government has no funds," Sarma said.

"Casualties in road accidents in Assam have increased over the last two years. But they were declining two years ago when we enforced the rules strictly. This is one of the reasons we lost the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat in 2024. People, particularly young people, do not like it," he said.

Sarma said the stretch passing through Kaziranga has a speed limit of 40 kmph and that most vehicles adhere to it. However, he said, why the driver of the vehicle involved in Friday's accident was speeding remained a matter of concern.

The chief minister also said the government had brought in doctors from Guwahati Medical College to conduct the post-mortems of the deceased, as the local hospital near Kaziranga was not equipped to handle 26 post-mortems at once. The process would therefore take time.

Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has designated speed limits for vehicles passing through the area.