Normalcy returns to Daman >From Indo-Asian News Service
Daman, Aug 31 (IANS) Normalcy has returned to this union territory after two days of rioting and unrest following the death of 33 people in the collapse of an old bridge. Two people were killed when police Friday opened fire to disperse protestors who attacked a police station and torches vehicles as they blamed the authorities for failing to repair the bridge across the Daman Ganga river that collapsed Thursday. The death toll in the tragedy Sunday rose to 33, as four people injured in the bridge collapse died in hospital. People took to the streets when Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harin Pathak Friday visited Daman, some 400 km from Ahmedabad, to take stock of the situation. Local people said they had made several representations to the administration about the dangerous condition of the bridge but in vain. "People were already irked over the administration's failure to repair the bridge and Pathak's presence here on Friday added fuel to the fire," Daman Municipality president Vishal Tandel told IANS. Violence broke out in Moti Daman, Nani Daman, Devka Beach and Teen Batti neighbourhoods as mobs pelted stones at police. The violence also left eight people injured, who were admitted to hospitals in Daman and Vapi. The collapse of the bridge has paralysed academic life in Daman as more than 1,600 students are stranded on the other side of Daman Ganga. There are 10,000 students studying in 10 schools in Daman. "We are planning to ferry these students across the check dam on Daman Ganga," said a senior officer. Thursday's tragedy also took a major toll on students, as 23 children from Our Lady of Fatima Convent School in Nani Daman were among those who died in the tragedy. Most of the children, aged between six and 15 years, were on their way home from school when the bridge collapsed. Also missing is their mathematics teacher Bharatbhai Patel. --Indo-Asian News Service ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
