Kondagattu Accident Reflects The Ground Reality In Telangana

Kommineni Srinivasa Rao

"Telangana is a rich State, it has a surplus budget. We have turned the State into the best in the country," -- these are the words often spoken by Telangana caretaker Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and the leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)

"Telangana is a rich State. The TRS government turned Telangana into a debt-ridden State," -- these are the words often spoken by the Opposition parties.

Is Telangana really a rich State? The fact that over 100 people traveled in an ordinary RTC bus which was heading to the Kondagattu Anjaneya Swamy Temple in an unusually wrong route tells it all. As many as 57 people were killed in the incident, which is being termed as the country's biggest bus accident. Surely, Telangana did not become the no. 1 State in development, but it sure did in terms of mishaps.

Contrary to the ruling and the Opposition parties' claims, loading up of passengers beyond the permissible limits into a bus that has traveled well beyond its lifetime mileage of 20 lakh kilometers suggest laxity on the part of the government and the RTC could be clearly seen. If Telangana really is a rich State, why would so many poor people board a bus? At least from now on, political parties should try and speak the truth.

However, we cannot expect the parties to speak the truth, given that elections are round the corner. But, it would have been better if the people of the State had asked the politicians the reason behind the bad state of a ghat road and the lack of transport facilities despite in a rich State.

There is no reason to blame the TRS alone for the mishap. Around six years ago, over 10 people were killed in an accident on the same ghat road. Regardless of the party in power, all the political parties are collectively responsible for not taking measures to avoid such incidents.

Of late, road accidents have become a routine feature across the two Telugu States. In different incidents, five to ten people are losing lives on a daily basis. When a road accident occurs, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu often gives the impression that a review on the incident has immediately been undertaken and he makes everyone believe that no such accident would ever happen again. Yet, the accidents repeat endlessly.

Overspeeding, bad roads and other engineering issues are common reasons behind these incidents. Hundreds of innocents are losing lives RTC buses. In some cases, congested roads and violation of road safety rules cause these accidents. While the politicians of Telangana boast about it being a rich State, AP CM always travels by a chartered helicopter despite complaining of the State's poverty. The difference lies in the narrative of leaders of both the States. Wastage of public money is common between the leaders of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The former spend public money saying that Telangana is a rich State while the latter spend money saying that AP is a poor State.

Instead of spending public money for private purposes, the leaders of both States should spend funds on road widening or repairs.

Also Read:RTC Bus Falls Into Gorge In Jagtial, 47 Kondagattu Pilgrims Killed