Now, death takes 30 on a burning bus in Chitradurga

CHITRADURGA: May has been turning out to be the cruellest month in recent times. Virtually in its last lap on Sunday, it saw yet another gruesome accident in which a KSRTC bus tipped over and caught fire at Naikanahatty Cross, near Challakere — about 200 km from Bangalore — claiming 30 lives and injuring 25.
The tragedy occurred around 2.30 am when the passengers, mostly labourers from Gulbarga bound for Bangalore in search of work, were fast asleep.Police suspect the driver of the North-Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) bus might have dozed off and hit a culvert. The vehicle then overturned and its diesel tank caught fire. Within minutes, the tongues of flame consumed the rest of the bus. Fifteen women, 10 children and five men were burnt alive.
Of about 60 passengers on the bus, four jumped out to safety, 25 were rescued and rushed to hospitals in Challakere, district superintendent of police Labhu Ram said. Drivers Siddaswamy and Shetty, and conductor Nanagouda managed to escape. NEKRTC managing director Shankar Patil said: “As per norms, we had two drivers. The name of one driver is Shetty. He has 20 years of experience and is used to driving on the route.”
Transport minister R Ashok said preliminary reports pointed to the driver’s negligence. Police were planning to conduct DNA tests on the charred bodies to aid identification.
The labourers were forced to leave home after a disruption in the government-mandated rural jobs scheme. Surapur MLA Narasimha Naik was quoted by an agency report blaming the authorities for the suspension of the works that had forced the locals to migrate to other places. Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa took heed and promised to look into it.