MTC buses turn kills four persons including a newly-wed man and five passengers grievously injured.
Picture for representational purpose only.
Chennai: Four persons, including a newly-wed man and a 45-year-old woman, died in three separate accidents involving MTC buses in the city on Thursday. On the East Coast Road near Mahabalipuram, two persons died after an MTC bus collided with a mini van on Thursday around 6 am. The driver of the minivan, Velayudham, 33, died on the spot, while five persons in the bus, including the driver were seriously injured and taken to a private hospital in Kelambakkam.
The front tyre of the Adyar-bound MTC bus (route no 588) from Mahabalipuram burst, and the driver, Dhanapal, 31, lost control, hitting first the mini van which was coming from the opposite side, and then a parapet on the side of the road before coming to a halt, police said. The MTC bus had seven passengers, besides the driver and conductor.
A passenger, Sivakumar, 21, who was working for a private firm in Sholinganallur, died in hospital, the police said. The Mamallapuram police have registered a case and are investigating. The accident led to a minor traffic jam of more than an hour on ECR in the morning.
In another incident, Dayanidhi, 45, was hit by an MTC bus (route no 49) near Thiruvanmaiyur and died on the spot. A resident of Old Washermanpet and a TNEB employee, she was on her way to meet her son studying in a private college in Kelambakkam when her two-wheeler was hit by the bus near the Adyar signal. She was thrown off the bike, sustaining serious head injuries, police said.
In a third incident, Saravanan, 30, a newly married young man who had dropped his wife on his motorcycle at the Villivakkam bus stand, and had barely gone a few metres when an MTC bus ran over him and killed him on the spot. A Villivakkam resident, he worked at a dental hospital in Anna Nagar and his usual practice was to drop his wife, Devi, a bank employee, at the Villivakkam bus stop before leaving for work himself. Villivakkam traffic investigation police secured the body and sent it to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.
The police arrested the driver of the MTC bus, Vincent.
Next: Drivers work hard but get blamed, says MTC MD
Drivers work hard but get blamed, says MTC MD
S Thirunavukarasu
Chennai: MTC top brass insists that its drivers are mostly innocent while the public hastens to blame them for every accident involving a bus. “There are multiple reasons for an accident and it’s not right to always blame our driver. But then, everyone is quick in blaming them (MTC drivers)”, said MTC managing director P.P. Rajendran.
When DC contacted him for his comments on Chennai witnessing four gruesome road accident deaths in the city involving MTR buses, Rajendran said the corporation had an effective mechanism in place to scrutinise each mishap involving its bus and take firm action where its driver was found to be at fault. “We have suspended and even terminated the erring drivers”, MD said. He pointed out thÂat the stress on the MTC drivers has gone up manifold due to increase in traffic congestion in the city. “Many two wheeler riders zip in and out of the traffic at high speeds, endangering their lives and of others. Our drivers are performing under great stress”, he said.
He said the corporation had been constantly providing its drivers refresher training and also counselling on handling road stress at its centres located at Anna Nagar, Chromepet, Adyar and Tondiarpet.
According to police records, Chennai has witnessed 1,165 road deaths so far this year, of which 97 were MTC-involved fatalities. The corresponding figures for last year were 1,449 and 115. And that perhaps is not such a bad ‘scorecard’ for the MTC drivers considering the fatigue and drudgery of spending long hours behind the wheel and through the maddening traffic.
But then, Thursday’s log of four fatalities on a single day is real tragedy.
( Source : dc )
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