Driver's negligence led to fatal accident at Araku: RTA

Visakhapatnam :Road Transport Authority (RTA) on Friday said negligence of the bus driver led to a tragic mishap at Araku on February 12. It may be recalled that four people were killed and 22 others injured after a tourist bus plunged into a gorge over 80 feet below the ghat road in between Damuku and Tyda villages under Ananthagiri police station limits in Vizag Agency on February 12th night.

Superintendent of Police, Vizag Rural, B Krishna Rao said that the deceased were identified as Kottam Saritha (38), Kottam Satyanarayana (50), Kottam Nitya (8 months) and Kottam Latha (45).

After inspecting the vehicle, a team of RTA said the negligence of the driver for failing to check the braking system led to the accident. Officials said the driver failed to manage the situation while negotiating a steep curve.

Bus driver G Srisailam had claimed that he lost control over the bus due to the failure of brakes at the hairpin bend. He said he made the decision to stop the bus by ramming into a retaining wall on the right side. The bus crashed through the wall and plunged into a gorge.

Deputy Transport Commissioner, Vizag, GC Raja Ratnam said that the private transport agency completely neglected the maintenance of the vehicle. He said the company operated the vehicle with a poor braking system. "The private transport agency could not change the brake pads in time," he said.

The Vizag rural police registered a case against the bus driver Gurrampalli Srisailam, who is responsible for the death of four people and injuries to over 20 people. The police registered cases against the driver under Sections 304 A 338 337 of IPC.

How the crashed happened?

26 members of a joint family in Hyderabad hired a bus of Dinesh Travels on February 10. They visited Kanakadurga temple in Vijayawada and later they reached Annavaram in East Godavari temple on February.

On February 11, they visited Annavaram temple and came to Vizag city and on February 12, they visited Simhachalam temple, Borra Caves and Araku Valley and the incident took place when they were returning from Araku Valley. A pall of gloom descended on the Seetanagar area of Shaikpet in Hyderabad as news spread about a bus accident involving the family of Kottam Satyanarayana, a retired State Bank of India employee.

The persons who suffered injuries in the incident are_ Kottam Chandrakala, Kottam Naresh Kumar, Kottam Swapna, Kottam Sivani, Kottam Devansh, Kottam Aravind Kumar, Kottam Maniswini, Kottam Sanvi, Kottam Vihan, Kottam Mounika, Kottam Ayush, Kottam Sailaja, Kottam Hithish, Kottam Muthum Saitha, Munna, Kottam Jyothi, Kottam Kalyani, Kottam Abhiram, L Nanda Kishore and Kottam Anitha. The driver G Srisailam also injured in the incident.