Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad   

Bad maintenance of flyover to blame?

By Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD DEC. 2. Even as police began investigation into the accident involving an APSRTC bus and an auto-rickshaw on the Narayanaguda flyover, an examination of the spot brought to light certain facts, including non-functioning of lights on the flyover.

The flyover also sans markings, which makes it extremely difficult for vehicle drivers to find the centre of the road. Even more shocking is the small one to one-and-a-half inch deep ditch found on the flyover a couple of metres away from the accident spot. Though the absence of lights and road markings is not supposed to be the contributing factor, it has become a cause of concern for vehicle drivers.

``On the day of the accident also we had difficulty in pulling out the victims trapped under the bus due to absence of lights,'' the APSRTC Divisional Manager, Satyanarayana, said.

Contrary to the notion that did rounds among the people on the day of the accident that the bus driver went to the extreme right and hit the three-wheeler, signs on the flyover indicate that the collision occurred on the centre of the road.

Both the vehicles were travelling on the centre of the road. When the collision took place, the auto-rickshaw came under the right side front wheel. The crushed auto parts jammed the rod connected to the steering wheel of the bus making it impossible for the driver to turn it left. ``However, we agree that the driver failed to apply brakes and as a result the bus dragged the three-wheeler till the railing causing extensive damage,'' RTC authorities maintained.

``More than the technical factors leading to the accident, we're worried about the absence of road markings and lights on the flyover. These defects are causing trouble to vehicle drivers, specially during the nights,'' Pratap Reddy of Himayathnagar said.

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