In Kohima town Medical college-bound truck crashes into bazar

KOHIMA: A fully loaded truck carrying concrete blocks for the Nagaland Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (NIMSR) at Phriebagie on Friday met with an accident below the North Police Station, destroying a wooden house. which is the house of a Muslim. Family, and four other shops.
The incident took place at around 3 am in the heart of Kohima town, resulting in suspension of traffic flow for several hours. Vehicles were diverted from Nagabazaar to other parts of Kohima causing heavy traffic jam in the city.

The North traffic police officer-in-charge at the scene of the accident, Puvezo Chuzho, told reporters that the medical college-bound truck met with the accident when it took a wrong turn and lost control while trying to reverse. Two towing trucks, including a police truck, were deployed after the concrete block-laden truck was unloaded.
Chuzho said that the truck driver was given wrong direction after which the heavy vehicle went uphill from the junction and met with an accident. The driver sustained a head injury and was given first aid at a private hospital, the officer said.
According to the officer, the driver fled the scene of the accident out of fear as some locals allegedly turned violent. While writing this report, he said that no FIR has been registered, but the police has traced the driver. The police indicated that a suo moto case may be registered in this regard.
A one-story wooden building, which housed a family of six, and four other shops, including two egg shops and two stationery cosmetic shops in the basement.

Abdul Kadir, 48, who owned one of the stationery and cosmetic shops, lived upstairs with his family. He has been running the shop for the past 12 years.
Speaking to reporters, Qadir said, “I, my wife and two older children were waking up to eat pre-fast in our kitchen when we heard a loud noise. At that time the two small children were sleeping so we went to bed. Rushed to Rome and saw that parts of our house had collapsed and the shops below had been destroyed. Fortunately, we rescued our children unhurt.
The family is currently sheltering in their kitchen, a concrete building adjacent to their three-bed room. “We couldn’t get anything from the shop. We have to adjust somehow to live here as it is difficult to find a house here in the town. We have no choice. Later, we also have to break our fast at 5 p.m. It is to break around 10:00 am. There is nothing we can do and will have to adjust at night. We will see what happens in the coming days,” Kadir said.
Another businessman, Altaf Hussain, who has been running another stationery and cosmetic shop for about 14 years, said, “I came to know about the incident after 3 am as I do not live in the locality. Since the house is made of wood, we are afraid to take out anything from the shops. The wooden planks and pillars are attached, so we are worried that if we try to remove anything from below, the house will collapse and cause more damage. We cannot take the risk.”
Both Qadir and Hussain said that their shops have products worth lakhs of rupees. Damages are yet to be assessed.

Truck bearing registration number GC 6927 was bound for Medical College in Kohima which is expected to be completed by May.