A day after a deadly HRTC bus accident in Rampur, Shimla district, in Himachal Pradesh, another bus on the very same route triggered panic on Thursday when smoke started billowing from its engine. Passengers, including schoolchildren, feared a fire and scrambled as chaos broke out, but the driver managed to stop the bus in time and get everyone off safely.
Wednesday's fatal crash
The scare came just a day after a bus accident on Wednesday evening around 6:30 pm near Gartola on the Rampur-Khadahan-Kotadhar-Kholighat route in Rampur sub-division. That crash killed two people, including the bus conductor, and left 22 passengers injured, sending shockwaves through the region.
Panic strikes again on Thursday
Despite the tragedy, HRTC authorities sent another bus down the same route on Thursday. Midway through the journey, smoke suddenly began pouring out of its engine, sparking fears of a fire among the passengers on board, who included schoolchildren. Panic spread quickly through the bus until the driver brought it to a halt and evacuated all the passengers, averting what could have been another disaster.
BJP leader Kaul Singh Negi slams HRTC
Kaul Singh Negi, who was the BJP candidate from Rampur, took to social media to voice sharp criticism over the incident. He wrote that government buses from the Rampur depot breaking down midway has now become routine. According to Negi, a bus on the Rampur-Baghi route also stalled on Thursday morning while carrying schoolchildren along with other passengers, on the very route where the fatal accident had occurred just a day earlier. He alleged that most buses at the Rampur depot are in a pitiable condition, and sending such rickety vehicles onto the road amounts to gambling directly with passengers' lives.
Negi said that back in June, he had staged a symbolic protest outside the Rampur depot over the poor condition of these dilapidated buses, citing public safety concerns. He added that the government and officials had also been warned repeatedly through the media before this, but claimed the administration's apathetic attitude shows it has no real intention of fixing the problem and is simply not serious about the safety of the public.
Demand for mandatory technical checks
Negi renewed his appeal to authorities, insisting that dilapidated buses should not be sent out on any route whatsoever. He also stressed that every bus put on the road must undergo a complete technical inspection before departure, calling this an urgent necessity to prevent further accidents.
Video from the spot raises fresh concerns
A video from the scene shows a person saying that smoke was coming out of the bus's engine, after which a schoolgirl and other passengers on board were seen visibly distressed. HRTC's rundown buses have repeatedly come under scrutiny in Himachal Pradesh, and this latest incident has once again exposed the cracks in the state's transport system.
