VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) on Tuesday felicitated 51 of its drivers across State for their accident-free service.VV Reddy of Mydukur depot in Kadapa district received cash award for the best driver in the State. When contacted, Reddy said being alert and feeling responsible for the lives of the passengers were the reasons for his accident-free record.
“I don’t drink or smoke. To ensure that my bus didn’t suffer any technical glitches, I would turn up for work an hour early,” the proud driver told Express.G Govindu of Kalyanadurgam in Anantapur district secured second place and M A Rao of Gajuwaka depot in Visakhapatnam district secured third place for the State-level award.Awards were also presented to the drivers who fared well at region and zonal levels.
Speaking on the occasion, RTC chairman Varla Ramaiah urged families of RTC drivers to send their breadwinner for duty in a peaceful mind. APSRTC managing director and vice-chairman NV Surendra Babu, Special Chief Secretary (Transport and R&B) Neerabh Kumar Prasad and Transport Commissioner N Bala Subramanyam participated in the programme.
All the 51 drivers attended the event with their families.The RTC observed the 29th Road Safety Awareness Week between April 23 and 3o in 127 depots in the State.According to the data available with the APSRTC, around 469 people died in 1,214 road accidents involving RTC buses in the State during the 2017-18 fiscal.