Kurnool bus tragedy rekindles memories of 2013, raises safety debate

The bus tragedy at Kurnool that claimed 19 lives on Friday is a stark reminder that nothing has changed after the horrific fire in a Hyderabad-bound private bus from Bengaluru 12 years ago that had claimed the lives of 48 people in Palem of Mahabubnagar.

- ANINDITA CHOWDHURY

In fact, it is a rerun of the accident that took place in October 2013, as there was a massive blaze after the bus hit a culvert and ruptured its diesel tank, resulting in tragic consequences. Every day, thousands of people, particularly IT professionals, travel between Hyderabad and Bengaluru and other nearby cities in private-run fleets of sleeper AC buses, which have mostly been modified to accommodate sleeping arrangements. Rules are routinely flouted and there are hardly any mechanisms to keep a check on the vehicles described by many as "sleeping coffins" because of frequent fatal accidents when the single exit point gets locked.