Amaravati, Mar 26 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh was struck by four ghastly bus accidents within six months, which killed at least 45 people and injured several.
Of the 45 deceased persons, 33 were charred to death in two bus accidents alone, which occurred in Chinna Tekuru and Rayavaram villages.
In a pre-dawn accident on Thursday, at least 14 passengers were killed and 22 injured after a private travel bus collided with a dumper truck near Rayavaram village in Markapuram district.
The accident occurred between 5.30 am and 6 am on a road leading to Podili when the bus rammed into a concrete chips-laden dumper truck, colliding with its fuel tank, which ignited a massive inferno.
On January 22, two persons and a bus driver were killed at Sirivella Metta village in Nandyal district when a Hyderabad-bound private travel bus collided with a lorry and caught fire.
Both the vehicles were engulfed in flames after the collision. However, more than 30 passengers were safely evacuated with the help of locals, averting another major disaster.
On December 12, 2025, nine people were killed and 23 others injured after a bus fell off a ghat road and overturned in Alluri Sitaramaraju district.
On October 24, 2025, a Bengaluru-bound sleeper bus ran over a two-wheeler, which had already met with an accident, at Chinna Tekuru village in Kurnool district, resulting in the eruption of a raging fire which had burned 19 passengers to death.
Andhra Pradesh Transport Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha on the Markapuram bus tragedy, said the bus was originally registered in Lakshadweep and underwent some modification before getting registered in Arunachal Pradesh on December 24.
“I think 99 per cent is accident. All the bus documents are in order,” Sinha told the media.
Quoting reports, he said in the last 7-8 months about145 people have died in sleeper bus accidents in the country.
Sinha said after the Kurnool incident, the authorities stopped and verified about 200 buses and issued notices to 90.
He said that higher permit fees are one of the reasons why vehicle owners prefer Northeastern states or Union Territories for bus registrations.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister M Ramprasad Reddy said a special taskforce will be constituted to address bus accidents.
“It is very sad to see these kinds of road accidents occurring. We will keep an eye on private travel buses in the state. Soon, we will convene a special meeting with private travel owners,” an official release, quoting Reddy said.
Further, the Transport Minister promised to bring a “special law to avert road accidents”. PTI STH KH
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