Andhra bus accident victims' DNA profiling to be completed by Monday: Official
Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): The DNA profiling of victims of Andhra Pradesh bus fire accident will take 48 hours and is expected to be completed by October 27, said an official on Saturday.
As many as 19 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motor bike rider were charred to death in the wee hours of Friday after it collided with a two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village of Kurnool district. There were 44 passengers in the bus and several managed to escape the fire.
Kurnool district collector A Siri said samples from 19 bodies were collected and sent to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Vijayawada.
"I am informed that it (DNA profiling) will take 48 hours. We are also arranging ambulances and vehicles that day so that as and when the results come we will transport those bodies to their respective places," Siri told PTI.
Out of the 19 bodies, one could not be identified as no one claimed it, she said, while the DNA profiling will exactly match the bodies to its family members.
Relatives of 16 bodies have given their samples for the DNA profiling while two more are reaching Vijayawada today for this purpose, she said.
According to Siri, bodies were completely charred beyond recognition and without doing DNA profiling their identity cannot be established correctly.
The flesh is completely charred and has become black and only the trunk part is left in most of the cases, she observed.
Currently, all the bodies are being preserved in Kurnool Government General Hospital (GGH) and they will be handed over to their relatives once the DNA samples arrive, she said. A consignment of cell phones stocked in the luggage rack of the bus had aggravated the fire accident.
I have seen a few boxes of unburnt cell phones, said the collector.
"The bus batteries, presence of flammable furnishings in the bus and the cargo consisting of cell phones aggravated the fire leading to the tragic event," Kurnool SP Vikrant Patel said in an earlier statement.
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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
