City bus drivers in Mangaluru continue to flout orders of top-cop, compromising public safety
A lot has been said about the carelessness and the menace the city bus drivers in Mangaluru has created on the roads of the city leading to multiple fatalities and casualties over the last few years. Several people have died due to overspeeding buses or the carelessness with which these bus drivers ply buses on the road in the city.
Several media reports have been published calling for action against these drivers and regulation for the buses and its drivers to drive with more care and while keeping public safety in mind. But the pleas of these media reports to create the awareness among the drivers have fallen into deaf ears.
Last year, former Commissioner of City Police, Kuldeep Jain, issued an order to cancel a bus stop at Bendorwell junction following a fatal accident involving a city bus. The move aimed to alleviate traffic congestion and enhance pedestrian safety. A banner was prominently displayed at the bus stop, indicating the cancellation of the stop and prohibiting city and government buses from picking up or dropping off passengers at the location.
However, the order was blatantly ignored by bus drivers, who continued to halt at the junction, disregarding the safety directive. Even in the presence of traffic police constables deployed to manage the junction, the drivers persisted in their violations. The banner, meant to inform the public about the order, was torn down, further highlighting the drivers' disregard for the rules. The traffic police almost always turned a blind-eye to these bus drivers flouting the orders of their boss, the top-cop of the city.
Jain was also subsequently transferred from Mangaluru, following which new police commissioner Anupam Agarwal took charge as the new top cop of the city. But that did not change anything, the drivers, kept flouting the order, jeopardizing the public safety and traffic cops kept turning blind eye to the violations.
Despite the confirmation from Jain himself a few days before he was transferred, that the order was in place, its effective implementation remained a challenge. The buses, particularly during peak hours at Bendorewell Circle, caused significant traffic disruptions, inconveniencing the general public. Notably, the drivers displayed aggressive behavior, honking incessantly and resorting to verbal abuse when other vehicles caused delays, asserting their lack of regard for road etiquette and safety.
Vartha Bharati attempted to contact the current Commissioner of Police, Anupam Agarwal, for a comment on the matter. However, Agarwal was unavailable for a response. It will be interesting to see if Agarwal mends the social and road behaviour or these bus drivers or gets a routine transfer like his predecessor Jain while maintaining that “the order is still in place but we are unable to effectively implement it”
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man kills wife, two children before ending his life in Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi (Karnataka), Apr 3 (PTI): A 45-year-old man allegedly murdered his wife and two children before hanging himself at their apartment in Kalaburagi on the evening of April 2, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at Gabre Layout, near Old Jewargi Road, under Station Bazar police station limits.
The deceased have been identified as Santosh, a Senior Assistant at the Gulbarga Electricity Supply Company Limited (GESCOM), his wife and their two sons, police said.
According to police, the woman and the two children were "strangled to death", while Santosh died by suicide.
A death note was also recovered from the scene.
"Preliminary information suggests the couple had been married for 10 years and frequently fought. They had severed ties with their family for the past seven years. The death note mentions frequent misunderstandings and quarrels between them as the reason," Police Commissioner Sharanappa S D said.
Speaking to reporters, he stated, "We have registered a murder case. The Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO) team, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), and fingerprint experts have inspected the site. The exact timing of the incident is yet to be determined, but it likely occurred between 6-8 pm."
According to the police, after taking the lives of his wife and children, Santosh called a member of his wife's family, informing them about the incident and indicating that he intended to end his own life.
"The family member tried to dissuade him from ending his life, but in vain. When they arrived, the door was locked from the inside. Upon breaking it open, they discovered the bodies," police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
