BMTC bus loses control; conductor killed

BMTC bus loses control; conductor killed

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: A Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus conductor was killed and eight passengers were injured after the bus lost control while coming down the flyover near Richmond Circle on Tuesday morning.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East) Seemanth Kumar Singh said that around 7.30 a.m., while descending down the ramp, the bus driver hit the median and then rammed the compound of the adjoining Hotel Chancery.

Dolle Gowda (52), the conductor, who was standing on the rear footboard, fell on the road through the open door and suffered serious injuries. Passers-by rushed him to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries around 8.15 a.m. Some passengers suffered minor injuries.

Mr. Singh told The Hindu that investigations were on to confirm the preliminary findings that brake failure had led to the accident. The police immediately removed the bus from the road and ensured that traffic was not affected.

The Ashoknagar traffic police have registered a case.

Dolle Gowda was a native of Nagamangala taluk in Mandya district, He was a resident of Chamarajpet here.

After learning about the accident, Dolle Gowda’s friends and relatives gathered in large numbers at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital.

Alleging that the failure of the doctors in providing emergency treatment had resulted in Dolle Gowda’s death, they staged a protest in front of the hospital for some time.

They demanded that senior BMTC officials come to the hospital and ensure them justice, the police said.

The bus driver, Anwar, told the police that he tried to apply brakes on approaching a road hump while getting down the ramp.

After realising that the brakes were not working, he rammed the median. The bus, route number 37B, was bound for Shivajinagar from Timber Yard Layout on Mysore Road.
‘No brake failure’

However, BMTC’s Director (Security and Vigilance) P.S. Sandhu said that the inputs from the mechanical engineering department had indicated that that the brakes of the bus were in order.

Divisional Mechanical Engineer of BMTC Basavaraju opined that the bus could have descended on Residency Road at a high speed.

As it crossed a slump on the road while joining Residency Road, the bus apparently jumped and its front right axles broke down due to the impact.

This resulted in the driver losing control over the vehicle, he said.

Mr. Sandhu said that the 10-year-old bus had undergone regular maintenance last week.

Moreover, Anwar was the regular driver of the bus and he had not complained about any mechanical problem earlier, he added.