Despite spending lakhs of rupees from the government treasury, the Disaster Management Department once again proved to be as helpless and ineffective as a “swordless Nidheeram Sardar” when it was truly needed — a stark example of this has been witnessed on Tuesday morning  in the Chakmaghat area under Teliamura police station of Khowai district. Along with this, the Sub-Divisional Administration has become the epicenter of criticism for showing utter irresponsibility.

There is no hesitation in stating that due to the absence of necessary action from the Sub-Divisional Administration and lack of timely initiative from the Disaster Management Department, the driver of an accident-hit vehicle could not be saved. In front of hundreds of people, the driver succumbed to death.

According to reports, around 2:30 AM last night, a cement-laden lorry traveling from Dharmanagar to Agartala met with an accident on the National Highway  portion of  Chakmaghat area. After the accident, the driver of the vehicle (who was also the owner) was trapped and unable to get out. The front portion of the vehicle had crushed inward and pinned the driver’s body. In this condition, Mihir Lal Debnath, son of Makhanlal Debnath from the Kanchanpur area, kept desperately crying out for help, pleading to be rescued.

Tragically, even after 7 to 8 hours had passed since the accident, the Teliamura administration and the Disaster Management department — well-funded from public taxes — failed to rescue Mihir Lal Debnath, who was on the brink of death. Although two or three disaster management workers appeared with an iron-cutting tool, it reportedly wasn’t functioning. Additionally, a DCM officer arrived at the scene nearly seven hours after the incident occurred.

Local residents collectively expressed their anger and frustration over this tragic outcome, blaming administrative negligence for the unfortunate death of the driver.

According to the latest update, the accident occurred around 2:30 AM, and only at around 9:40 AM did the administration finally recover Mihir Lal Debnath’s lifeless body and shift it to Teliamura Sub-Divisional Hospital, thus formally ending their responsibility.

This incident has not only caused widespread outrage but has also once again proven that no matter how much disaster management teams are trained on paper, they ultimately fail when it matters most.

However, within their limited capacity, personnel from various levels of the 12th Battalion of TSR reportedly played a commendable role in this situation.

While, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha has ordered from investigation into the tragic incident and through his social media post , Dr Saha said that  “A probe has been initiated in connection with the unfortunate incident at Teliamura, where a driver tragically lost his life following a mishap. The concerned authorities have been directed to submit a detailed report at the earliest. Appropriate action will be taken if any negligence is found on the part of any individual or authority.”