TSRTC bus hits multiple vehicles in Hyderabad, temporary driver booked

A Telangana RTC bus on Monday rammed into several vehicles at the Habsiguda cross-roads in Hyderabad. The Janagaon-bound bus, that departed from Jubilee bus station, had eight passengers on board when it hit the vehicles. While no casualties were reported, the several vehicles that the bus rammed into were partly damaged and the temporary driver who was driving the bus fled the spot after the accident and is absconding. Speaking to TNM, Nallakunta Traffic Inspector Narendhar Rao said, “There seems to be a glitch in the brakes of the bus. The bus hit a car from behind, which in turn hit another and three other bikes. As the vehicles were damaged, the owners filed a police complaint. The Osmania University police have taken the bus into custody and are investigating the case.” Rajasheker, Inspector at Osmania University police station confirmed to TNM that a case has been registered against the temporary driver under Section 279 of the IPC (rash driving). Denying that the brake failed, the police officer said that the driver has been booked for negligence as well.  In the wake of the ongoing indefinite strike by the TSRTC employees, several accidents of the TSRTC buses have been reported in the state. Earlier, alleged recklessness by temporary drivers have claimed two lives — while one was a pedestrian in Nizamabad, the other was a motorist in Amberpet of Hyderabad. At least seven people were injured in Telangana last week after an RTC bus that they were travelling in hit a car and swerved off the road, before falling into a stormwater drain near Ramachandrapuram of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district. All these incidents suggest that there could be serious lapses either in the appointments of the temporary drivers or the condition of the RTC buses. Earlier this week, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had himself stated that around 2,000 buses are unfit to be on roads. Employees have been arguing that thousands of buses are unfit or out of the condition.  Meanwhile, the RTC strike entered its 24th day on Monday. Frustrated by the turn of events, a woman conductor, K Neeraja, working at Sathupally depot in Khammam district, allegedly killed herself at her residence. Also read: Woman bus conductor kills self in Telangana: Fallout of job loss from RTC strike?