Surge in Fatal Bus Crashes in Telugu States Prompts Safety Review

Post by : Raina Nasser

Hyderabad — A succession of lethal incidents involving both state-run RTC and private coaches in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has intensified scrutiny of road safety standards across the Telugu-speaking states.

In the most recent incident, one person died and eight others were hurt after a private travel coach struck a truck near Dhamajipalli in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri Sathya Sai district early Tuesday. The Jabbar Travels vehicle, carrying 27 passengers from Hyderabad to Bengaluru, collided with the truck while negotiating a turn.

Police said the injured were transported to a local hospital for treatment, and authorities have launched an inquiry to determine the sequence of events that led to the crash.

The latest crash follows the devastating Kurnool fire on October 24, when a V Kaveri Travels bus ran over a motorcycle, triggering a spark and fuel leak that ignited a blaze and killed 19 people as the vehicle was consumed by flames.

On Monday night a private coach overturned in Eluru district, killing 25-year-old software engineer V. Praveen Babu, who was travelling to Hyderabad for a new job; ten fellow passengers sustained injuries in that accident.

Also on Monday morning, an RTC bus and a tipper truck transporting construction material collided head-on in Rangareddy district, near Mirzaguda in Chevella mandal, about 60km from Hyderabad, resulting in 19 fatalities. Reports say several passengers were trapped beneath gravel after the truck struck the bus.

Early Tuesday, an RTC bus collided with a tractor on Renukunta Bridge in Karimnagar district, injuring 15 passengers who were promptly taken to a government hospital for care.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar voiced serious concern over the cluster of accidents, urging state authorities to make road safety a priority and to step up public information efforts.

He wrote on X that the string of bus tragedies is "deeply worrying" and called for decisive measures to safeguard commuters and prevent further loss of life.

With multiple high-casualty incidents occurring in quick succession, officials now face pressure to reassess transport safety protocols, tighten vehicle maintenance standards and enforce stricter oversight of long-distance bus operators.