Kurnool: Bus Was Illegally Converted into Sleeper
Any change in the seating capacity of a bus must be informed to the transport officials, and permissions must be taken before changing seating styles: RTO officials
HYDERABAD: The bus that caught fire in Kurnool district, killing 20 passengers and injuring 27 others was illegally converted from a seater vehicle to sleeper, without adhering to enhanced safety regulations applicable for the sleeper bus. Though the bus was operating between Telangana and Karnataka, passing through Andhra Pradesh, it was registered in the Union Territory of Diu and Daman in 2018 and re-registered in Odisha this year, raising serious questions about the registration, permission, operation and regulation of the vehicles in the country.
The vehicle’s All India Tourist Permit disclosed that the seating capacity of the bus was 43 sitting and zero sleeper seats. But in reality, all the seats of the bus were sleeper seats, indicating that the Vemuri Kaveri travels changed the bus seating layout from sitting seats to sleeper seats.
RTO officials said that any change in the seating capacity of a bus must be informed to the transport officials, and permissions must be taken before changing seating styles.
Speaking with Deccan Chronicle, an RTO official said, “Seating arrangement is directly linked to structural modification of the vehicle, and it is compulsory for travel agencies to take necessary permits from their RTAs and then change the seating.”
According to the Union ministry of road and highways, the bus body construction requirements for seater and sleeper differ significantly, with enhanced safety requirements.
As emergency evacuation is more complex in a sleeper coach due to lying passengers and narrow gangways, the sleeper buses require more emergency exits and better fire safety systems. A hammer needs to be provided at each berth to allow passengers to break the glass of windows, in an emergency.
The bus, operated by Vemuri Kaveri Travels, was originally registered in Daman and Diu in August 2018, under the number plate DD 01 N 9490. It was re-registered in Odisha at the Rayagada RTO on April 29, 2025. But despite the re-registration, the bus still bore the Daman and Diu number plate.
The bus is not only violating the All India Tourist Permit, but also has violations from the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Under section 47 of the MV Act, a vehicle registered in one state or Union Territory must obtain fresh registration (or an inter-state permit) if it is to be used in other states for more than 12 months, but the bus coach was operating between Telangana and Karnataka without being registered in either of those states, which is a direct violation of the law.
The bus has insurance valid until April of 2026, road tax valid until March of 2026 and fitness certification which is valid until March of 2027. But the registration in Daman and Diu has raised questions about why travel agencies register their heavy vehicles in North-Eastern states like Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, and Union Territories like Daman and Diu.
Former drivers and conductors of travel buses, speaking with Deccan Chronicle, said that many travel companies deliberately register buses in North-Eastern states or Union Territories in order to avoid higher taxes and avoid rigorous fitness checks.
Telangana charges 7.5 per cent of road tax for new commercial vehicles, and with the ex-showroom price of the bus ranging around Rs. 90 lakhs, the road tax amounts to `6,75,000, which does not include green tax and other charges by RTAs. But in Daman and Diu, the taxation for a vehicle with an ex-showroom price above `10 lakh is three per cent, half of what is being charged in Telangana.
“During the fitness check in Nagaland, the official does not even check the bus. They just stamp the bus as approved. At least in Hyderabad, when police stop our buses for checking, they do check for the quality of the bus, but it is very minimal”, said a bus conductor of a private travel bus, who requested not to be named.
Authorities have booked a case for the accident, and said they will investigate all factors against the bus and the travel agency as well.
