80 people dead in BMTC bus accidents since 2024: Bengaluru Traffic Police data
Bengaluru: At least 80 lives have been lost in road accidents involving BMTC buses since the beginning of 2024, according to data from the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), cited by Deccan Herald on Tuesday.
This year has seen a particularly deadly spike, with 38 fatalities reported up until August 24, including five in the month of August alone.
In total, BMTC bus-related accidents in 2024 have claimed 42 lives and left 155 people injured. So far this year, there have been 124 accidents involving BMTC buses this year, resulting in 38 deaths and 91 injuries.
During the same period, KSRTC buses in Bengaluru have been involved in accidents that resulted in 20 deaths and 32 injuries. Private buses have accounted for 48 deaths and 203 injuries, according to the data.
The BMTC stated that its drivers were not at fault in four of the five fatal accidents this month. "A majority of such accidents occur when two-wheeler riders attempt risky overtaking manoeuvres and lose control, resulting in collisions with the rear wheels of buses," it noted.
A senior traffic police officer mentioned that BMTC buses are large vehicles and cannot be brought to halt immediately when someone falls, adding that a buffer of at least 10 feet is needed to stop the bus.
Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy also defended BMTC bus drivers, asserting that "there's a false perception that BMTC drivers are rash. “If you look into accidents involving BMTC, 60% of the time drivers are not at fault. Our drivers are well-trained and professional and appointed purely based on merit,” DH quoted Reddy as saying.
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PM Modi, myself don't have 'wife issue': Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): In a friendly banter, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he didn’t have "the wife issue", as the Congress MP emphasised that everyone has learnt from women in their lives.
Participating in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the three bills introduced for amendments to the women's quota law and setting up a delimitation commission, Gandhi said women are a driving force in the national imagination and national perspective.
"All of us in this room have been influenced, taught, and have learnt a lot from women in our lives – from mothers, sisters, wives," Gandhi said.
"Of course, the prime minister and myself don't have the wife issue, so we don't get that input, but we have our mothers and sisters," he said while referring to Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju's light-hearted remark that he got a scolding at home as he did not pen a poem for his wife like Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal did.
Gandhi also lauded his sister and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi's speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
"Yesterday, I was watching my sister achieve in five minutes what I have not been able to do in 20 years of my political career – make Amit Shah Ji smile," Gandhi said to peals of laughter.
