Post by : Rameen Ariff

Hyderabad — A troubling cluster of fatal collisions involving both state-run RTC buses and private travel coaches in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has renewed concern about road safety across the Telugu-speaking region.

In the most recent incident early Tuesday near Dhamajipalli in Sri Sathya Sai district, one person lost their life and eight others were injured when a Jabbar Travels bus carrying 27 passengers from Hyderabad to Bengaluru struck a truck while negotiating a turn.

Police said the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital and that investigators have opened inquiries to determine the circumstances behind the crash.

The accident comes days after a catastrophic bus fire on October 24 near Kurnool, where a V Kaveri Travels coach reportedly ran over a motorcycle, leading to fuel leakage and a spark that ignited a blaze, killing 19 people.

On Monday night in Eluru district, a private travel bus overturned, killing 25-year-old software engineer V. Praveen Babu, who was en route to Hyderabad for a new job; ten other passengers suffered injuries.

Also on Monday morning in Rangareddy district, a Telangana RTC bus was involved in a head-on collision with a tipper truck carrying construction material near Mirzaguda in Chevella mandal, about 60 km from Hyderabad. Nineteen people died after several passengers were buried under spilled gravel.

In a separate early-Tuesday incident on Renukunta Bridge in Karimnagar district, an RTC bus collided with a tractor, leaving 15 people hurt. The injured were taken to a government hospital for treatment.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar expressed serious concern over the string of accidents and urged state governments to prioritise road safety and launch awareness campaigns.

“These repeated bus accidents are alarming,” he wrote on X, calling for stricter steps to prevent further tragedies and make roads safer for all travellers.

With the number of deadly incidents rising in both states, officials face mounting pressure to review transport safety protocols, enforce maintenance standards and strengthen oversight of long-distance bus operators.

#Global