57 killed as RTC bus plunges into gorge in Jagtial
102 passengers were in the bus besides driver, conductor.
JAGTIAL: In the biggest ever accident in the history of the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC), 57 passengers died when the overloaded bus they were travelling in tried to negotiate a bend on the Kondagattu ghat in Jagtial district and toppled into a gorge on Tuesday. The deceased include 37 women, 15 men and five children. It is believed to be the biggest accident in the history of the public transport system in the country.
As many as 102 passengers were travelling in the bus besides the driver and the conductor when the incident took place. Tickets were issued to 96 passengers. As many as 44 other passengers were injured and are undergoing treatment in government hospitals in Jagtial and Karimnagar. The ill-fated bus was coming down the ghat main road to go towards Jagtial when it hit a speed-breaker and fell into the gorge. TSRTC authorities have suspended the Jagtial bus depot manager Hanumantha Rao for negligence in operating buses on the route and have ordered an inquiry.
A majority of the deceased were from the villages of Shanivarampeta, Thimmayyapalli, and Himathraopeta located in Kondagattu. While some bodies were scattered along the Kondagattu ghat section Valley some were stuck in the bus. The driver, Srinivas, fractured both legs and suffered a head injury and died while undergoing treatment in a government hospital in Karimnagar. He was recently transferred to the Jagtial bus depot from the Karimnagar bus depot.
Local people say that the condition of the RTC bus that operated on the Kondagattu ghat section was poor. There are also no signboards warning of dangerous sections of the ghat. The overcrowding in the bus is also said to be one of the reasons for the accident. The bus was to ply between Shanivarampeta and Jagtial but it deviated from this route and went to Kondagattu in the hope of getting more passengers and revenue as more people visit the Hanuman temple on Tuesdays.
Ministers K.T. Rama Rao, Patnam Mahender Reddy, Etela Rajender, MLAs Bodige Shoba, Jeevan Reddy, RTC chairman Somarapu Satyanarayana and former MP Ponnam Prabhakar visited the hospital where the injured were undergoing treatment. It seems that the authorities concerned have failed to create sufficient facilities at the temple for the devotees and measures for their safety and security.