BMTC buses claim five lives in a span of 25 days, one child battling for life

BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses, notorious for killing pedestrians and two-wheeler riders, have claimed five lives within a span of 25 days between July 28 and August 13. The deaths were caused mostly due to rash and negligent driving by the BMTC drivers.

On July 18, Suma, an employee of a private banking services company was crushed under an electric bus in Peenya when she was buying breakfast at a roadside eatery. The bus conductor had tried to move the vehicle in the absence of the driver, leading to the accident.

A woman pillion rider was killed after a BMTC bus knocked down a two-wheeler near the Silk Board Metro station on July 22. A two-wheeler rider was killed after a BMTC bus knocked him down at Peenya Stage II on July 29.

In another accident on July 30, a BMTC bus ran over a child near Uma Theatre in Chamarajpet after knocking down a two-wheeler. The condition of the child is critical in hospital. On the same day, an aged woman died after an electric bus knocked her down while she was crossing the road in Madiwala.

In the latest case on Wednesday, (August 14), a two-wheeler rider, Syed Jaffar Hussain, a private firm employee, died after being knocked down by a BMTC bus near the Roopena Agrahara bus stand. With the transport utility set to expand its fleet by adding over 1,000 more buses, citizens are concerned about the training being given to BMTC drivers and stressed that they should be thoroughly trained periodically to avoid accident.