Karnataka SRTC issues safety guidelines after schoolgirl falls off bus and dies
A 14-year-old schoolgirl suffered head injuries and died after she fell from a moving, crowded bus in Karnataka’s Haveri district on Monday
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has issued safety guidelines asking its staff to follow all precautions for passengers’ safety following the death of a 14-year-old girl in a crowded state-run bus in Haveri district on Monday.
The circular directed the bus crew not to allow any passenger to stay on the footboard of the bus, and make sure both the front and back doors are closed properly. “The doors should be opened and the passengers should be allowed to deboard only when the bus halts at the designated bus stand and not before,” the circular stated. It asked the staff to make sure that all the doors are fully functional before the trips start from depots.
On Monday, Madhu Kumbar (14), suffered head injuries and died after she fell from a moving, crowded North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) bus. The girl was holding the railings and standing on the footboard before she fell off the bus when it took a turn, according to eyewitnesses. The incident occurred near Kusanur village in Hanagal taluk of Haveri district when she was on her way to school.
Transport minister Ramalinga Reddy condemned the incident and directed the corporation to take necessary measures to avoid such incidents in future.
The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday demanded that the state government ensure safety measures for students following the death of the school girl. Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said that due to cancellation of bus services, people have been inconvenienced and school students are being forced to travel on footboards of overcrowded buses in the state.
“The buses should run on all routes as per schedule. It is the duty of the Karnataka Road Transport Corporation to ensure this. Let the Congress government implement the schemes to help people and women. But complaints are coming that in that pretext the buses are cancelled, operation of buses in many routes are cancelled,” Bommai said.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah on June 11 launched the ‘Shakti’ scheme, the first of the five poll guarantees rolled out by the Congress government, that allows free bus travel for women. It has increased the ridership of Karnataka’s four Road Transport Corporations (RTCs).
According to officials, all women, including girl students, without any discrimination on the basis of caste, religion caste, can avail the facility. Gender Minorities are also included in the scheme, they said.
The free travel service can be availed in city transport, ordinary and express buses which accounts for 18,609 buses in all four state-owned Road Transport Corporations (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and Kalyan Karnataka Road Transport Corporation).