Malappuram: Abdul Majeed, the autorickshaw driver who died in the accident at Manjeri met with the tragedy on the eve of his daughter's 'Nikah', a ceremony in Muslim marriage. Majeed was in the middle of the arrangements to marry off his daughter and the accident took his life hours before the auspicious moment of his life.
Apart from Majeed, four of a family including Thasneema (33), her two children Raiha Fathima (4) and Rinsha Fathima (12), and her elder sister Muhsina (35) were also killed after the autorickshaw collided with a bus carrying Sabarimala pilgrims from Karnataka on Friday.
As Thasneema reached her native place from UAE only two days ago, the family was on the way to visit a relative at Pulloor.
The five bodies, which are currently kept at Manjeri Government Medical College Hospital, would be handed over to the relatives on Saturday after completing the formalities.
Meanwhile, the natives have blamed the authorities for the gruesome accident. Chettiyangadi, where the accident occurred, has witnessed several accidents in recent times. Earlier, when people brought the issue to the attention of PWD Minister P A Mohammed Riyas, he informed them that directions were given to Kerala State Transport Project (KSTP) officials to do the needful. Following this, a KSTP executive engineer conducted an inspection in the area to learn about the safety issues.
KSTP has placed speed control warnings in the area when a pedestrian died in a bike accident on the same spot in May. However, there were no further steps to prevent the accidents in the area.
The local residents have decided to launch a protest and block the road on Saturday morning to voice their anger over official inaction.
