Salim Kumar, only Malayalam comedian to win National Award for Best Actor, dead at 56
He learned to perform on a mimicry stage in Cochin. He finished on a national podium. The house in North Paravur was named Laughing Villa. It is quiet now.
A late-evening road accident on the Trichy–Chennai National Highway in Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district claimed nine lives on Wednesday, prompting Chief Minister MK Stalin to announce ex gratia relief for the victims’ families and direct enhanced medical care for the injured.
According to the district administration, a State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) bus travelling from Trichy to Chennai collided with two cars near Eluthur village in Thittakudi taluk. The crash occurred around 7.30 pm. Nine occupants of the cars, five men and four women, died on the spot, while four others sustained injuries and were rushed to government hospitals.
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Cuddalore District Collector Thiru Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar said the injured are currently undergoing treatment in government facilities. “Yesterday in Cuddalore district, a tragic road traffic accident happened near Thittakudi, where a government SETC bus travelling from Trichy to Chennai collided with two cars. Nine people died in the accident, and the remaining four injured are undergoing treatment in government hospitals,” he said.
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Also Read: Karnataka bus accident: 9 killed in Chitradurga sleeper bus fire; PM announces ex-gratia
TN CM’s relief announcement and directions
Expressing grief over the incident, the Chief Minister announced financial assistance from the Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund, Rs 3 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each for those critically injured and under treatment. In an official communication, he also directed that special medical care be ensured for the four injured, including two children.
“I express my deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the nine people who died in this accident and their relatives,” the Chief Minister wrote, adding that the relief would be disbursed from the Public Relief Fund, according to ANI.
Officials said the focus remains on treatment and support for the injured, while standard procedures are underway to ascertain the sequence of events leading to the collision.
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