Himachal tragedy: Why were students taken to river at night, ask parents

Shocked by the news of students being washed away in the turbulent Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, anxious parents and relatives rushed to the private engineering college at Bachupally here seeking information about their dear ones.

24 students washed away in Himachal

The parents and relatives complained that they did not receive any information regarding the incident from the college management and vented their anger at the college management for allegedly not taking prior permission from them before taking the students on the tour.

A group of 48 students studying second year electronics and instrumentation at a Hyderabad-based private engineering college were on a study tour of HP when the tragedy struck them last evening.

Around 24 engineering students were feared to have been washed away last evening in river Beas near Thalot on Manali-Kiratpur Highway, 40 km from Mandi.

A group of around 25 students, including seven girls, were taking photographs near the riverbank when there was a sudden gush of water in which they were feared to have been washed away. The students were in two buses while a group from one of the buses went near the river for taking photographs.

"Why they (students) were taken to the river bed in the night hours? Did anyone inform us...were the parents told about this? They only collected Rs 15,000 from each student," Naik, father of a student Rambabu, who was part of the trip, said.

"I had spoken to my son on June 5 last. His exams had completed on June 2 and he said the college management was taking them for the tour. Whether it is study tour or a picnic trip...nothing was informed by the management," said Naik, who hails from Nalgonda district.

"After hearing the tragic news through TV last night I came at 3 am. The college management told us that they are taking us to Himachal Pradesh...but so far there is no clarity," he said expressing anger on the management.

However, the college authorities said they were making all arrangements to take the parents from the airport in Hyderabad to Himachal Pradesh.

"We will send them to Himachal Pradesh by a flight ...arrangements have been made," a college official said.

The college principal was among the officials who were leaving for Himachal Pradesh.

Image: Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani visits the site of the accident in Himachal Pradesh. Photograph: @bjpmember/Twitter