40 hurt in Tirupati bus mishap

Tirupati: A total of 40 devotees on a pilgrimage to Tirumala had a close shave, but were left wounded as an APSRTC bus collided with another on Ghat Road leading from Alipiri to Tirumala in the early hours on Sunday.

According to the TTD vigilance, an RTC bus rammed into another from behind on Tirumala Ghat Road near 11th mile on Sunday.

The vigilance wing sleuths, who learnt about the accident, reached the spot along with ambulances and shifted the injured to the SVRR Government Hospital in Tirupati. Most of the devotees were from North India, hailing from various parts of Gujarat. All of them received minor injuries.

Following the mishap, traffic along the Ghat Road came to a standstill for a while. 

Meanwhile, the driver of the RTC bus which rammed into another from behind stated that he lost visibility of the road due to heavy fog on the  road, which led to the accident.

However, it is a common complain from the passengers that the RTC drivers resort to rash driving along both the Ghat Roads, despite the speed curbs imposed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.

The temple administration had imposed time-bound speed curbs for vehicles including RTC buses plying on the Ghat Roads with an aim to minimise road accidents on these roads besides ensuring a safe pilgrimage to millions of devotees.

While the private cars, both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, and jeep operators are strictly adhering to the stipulated travelling time fixed by the TTD, RTC drivers hardly bother to stick to the guidelines.