Rautahat, August 28

All private and public schools across Rautahat district were shut today to mourn the death of a large number of teachers who were killed in a bus accident at Chandibhanjyang VDC – 6, in Chitwan on Friday.

As many as 22 persons, including 14 Rautahat locals died when the ill-fated bus plunged into the Trishuli River leaving 16 others injured. Of the injured, many are from Rautahat itself. Six youths of the district went missing when the bus was heading to Pokhara from Gaur, Rautahat, met with the accident.

Of the deceased, Chitranjan Yadav, 35, and Rabi Ranjan Yadav of Mudwalawa VDC – 3, Rajesh Prasad Yadav, 33, of Mudawalawa – 6, Ram Balak Jaiswal of Mudawalawa – 2, Sandhya Shribastav, 35, of Sirsiya, Ganesh Sah of Basantapur–1 and Rakesh Yadav of Laukaha have been identified as teachers of different schools in the district.

They were working as temporary, contract and private quota teachers. All of them were heading to the lake city to appear for the written examinations of the much sought after post of permanent quota teachers scheduled for Saturday.

Due to the tragic death of scores of teachers in the accident, schools across the district were shut after Nepal Teacher’s Association and Private and Boarding Schools of Nepal Rautahat chapter sent an appeal to the schools.

Nepal Teacher’s Association district Chairperson Mani Shankar Nidhi and PABSON Rautahat Secretary Gautam Shrestha said that educational institutes in the district had incurred huge loss due to the death of teachers. Earlier, representatives of different organisations in the district had burnt oil lamps in memory of the deceased in district headquarters Gaur on Saturday evening.

The final rites of all the 14 deceased persons were performed on Saturday. The five bodies of Indian nationals were handed over to their kin, said Chief District Officer Nara Hari Baral.