Governor of Himachal Pradesh Bandaru Dattatreya had a lucky escape on Monday after his official car lost control and veered into a ditch off the NH-65 (Vijayawada-Hyderabad) near Khaithapur village limits of Choutuppal in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district.
Mr. Dattatreya, his personal assistant and the driver escaped unhurt, and the damage were limited to the front-end of the car. According to Choutuppal police, the incident occurred around 11 a.m., when the vehicle, that was en route to Nalgonda, lost control. It is suspected that the steering wheel of the luxury car suddenly got locked while driving.
However, a serious crash was averted due to the driver’s alertness, the police opined.
Soon, Mr. Dattatreya and the officials took the accompanying vehicle and reached Nalgonda town, as per schedule, for the public felicitation ceremony organised by old-time friends and local leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In Nalgonda town, District Collector Prashant J. Patil and Superintendent of Police A.V. Ranganath welcomed him at the R&B guest house and exchanged pleasantries. At the felicitation, hundreds of his well-wishers and leaders presented him shawls and mementoes and garlanded him. Addressing the gathering, Mr. Dattatreya said encouraging skill development in rural India would provide jobs for many youths, and each mandal in a district must be equipped with one such facility. He stressed that technology skills are crucial, evident from the COVID-19 pandemic experience.
Talking about the mishap on the way here, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh said the vegetation in the ditch reduced the impact of the accident and saved his life along with those of the other occupants.
In the last leg of his tour, Mr. Dattatreya, along with local legislator Gadari Kishore Kumar and Mulugu legislator Seethakka and others, unveiled the statues of Jyotiba-Savitribai Phule in Thungathurthy town of Suryapet.
President calls
President of India Ramnath Kovind called up Mr. Dattatraya on phone and enquired about his health condition after the road accident.
Among others Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister of State for Home G. Kishan Reddy, Governor Tamilisai Soundarrajan, Governor of Andhra Pradesh Vishwabushan Harichandan, Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministeri Jaram Thakur and former Maharashtra Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao talked to Mr. Dattatreya and enquired about his health condition.
