7 months ago
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Twelve years aft a horrific autobus occurrence connected the Bengaluru–Hyderabad National Highway that claimed 45 lives, calamity struck again successful the aboriginal hours of Friday erstwhile 19 passengers were charred to decease and respective others injured aft a luxury backstage autobus travelling from Hyderabad to Bengaluru caught occurrence successful Kurnool district.
The incidental has erstwhile again drawn attraction to the information lapses successful long-distance backstage autobus operations.
Safety measures
Speaking to The Hindu, Minister for Transport Ramalinga Reddy, recalling the 2013 incident, said respective information measures were introduced past to forestall specified accidents.
“During my earlier tenure arsenic Transport Minister successful 2013, I directed each Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) to guarantee that some backstage and State-run buses are equipped with an further exigency exit isolated from the main doorway to facilitate speedy evacuation during emergencies,” helium said.
Mr. Reddy noted that the determination proved important arsenic astir luxury AC sleeper buses had sealed windows, leaving passengers trapped during accidents. “After that directive, astir 50,000 buses crossed Karnataka, including those operated by KSRTC and backstage companies, were retrofitted with other exigency doors,” helium explained.
A elder Transport Department authoritative said that velocity restrictions were besides enforced to heighten rider safety. “The KSRTC’s mean and explicit services are constricted to 70 kmph, portion premium services are capped astatine 90 kmph. Drivers are instructed to support to the 2 near lanes connected highways, allowing faster vehicles to overtake safely,” the authoritative added.
Awareness measures
The authoritative further recalled that consciousness initiatives were besides introduced pursuing the 2013 tragedy. “We had instructed some authorities and backstage operators to play abbreviated video clips astir the determination and usage of exigency exits earlier each journey. At that time, astir premium buses had tv screens that were utilized to play movies, truthful the clips were shown earlier departure. However, with passengers present mostly utilizing their mobile phones, operators gradually discontinued these information videos,” helium said.
Another authoritative pointed retired that definite ocular information measures had besides been mandated. “We had asked operators to instal reddish indicator bulbs to item exigency exits and guarantee that each exits were intelligibly marked and accessible. These practices are inactive followed successful State-run buses, but backstage operators person been inconsistent,” helium said.
Motorists rise concerns
Meanwhile, the tragic incidental has besides brought attraction connected the Bengaluru–Hyderabad highway, a important but progressively congested corridor. Motorists person raised concerns astir the road’s information and the behaviour of immoderate drivers on the route.
Sagar Kumar, a regular commuter, described the agelong arsenic ‘super risky’. He said, “Driving connected the Hyderabad–Bengaluru road is harmless not due to the fact that of mediocre roads, but due to the fact that of the driving etiquette. This road should technically person six lanes with four-lane work roads. It’s a nightmare adjacent during the day. Many backstage autobus operators besides chopped corners connected information measures. I stopped travelling by autobus connected this way for these reasons.”
The transport officials said that portion the astir 100-km agelong from Bengaluru up to the Karnataka borderline adjacent Bagepalli is successful comparatively bully condition, monitoring overspeeding and enforcing information norms stay priorities. “After this accident, we volition research however to fortify checks connected velocity violations and amended surveillance on the route,” an authoritative added.
The National Highways Authority of India was unavailable for comment.
