Jagtial bus accident: Bad state of buses, roads main reasons for mishaps

Hyderabad: Though the Kondagattu accident was a major one, with a death toll of 57, the highest so far reported in any accident in Telangana, the two Telugu states have witnessed many other night mares along similar lines. Buses have fallen into rivers and lakes and crashed on ghats for reasons that vary from poor condition of buses and roads to reckless driving.

In 1993, 23 people were killed when an RTC bus plunged into the popular Hussainsagar lake in Hyderabad as the driver tried to avoid hitting a buffalo. P Sireesha lost her father in that accident. He was coming to see her as she had just been born. As a result, recalls Sireesha, she never knew her father and has missed a father's love throughout her life.

In 2014, 20 students were killed when the bus driver tried to speed past an unmanned railway crossing in Medak district and the Nanded-Secunderabad train rammed into the bus. In 2006 a mini bus plunged into the Krishna river resulting in a loss of 23 lives. Two lives were lost in Vijayawada last year in this manner. Eight persons were killed and fifteen others seriously injured when a TSRTC bus collided head-on with a lorry coming in the opposite direction. The list is much longer.

Vinod K Kumar, chief functionary, Indian Federation of Road Safety, says that even after all these tragic incidents, there has been no major transformation in the transportation sector. The state authorities continue to play with the lives of ordinary people who are way down on their list of priorities.