School bus with 20 kids tilts after hitting ditch in Bengaluru

A spokesperson from New Horizon Gurukul said that all the children and the driver were safely transported back home.

Onlookers and local residents immediately evacuated the children through the emergency exit door at the rear of the bus. Photo | Express

BENGALURU: A school bus carrying around 20 children got stuck in a roadside ditch on Balagere-Panathur Road on Friday. The ditch was filled with rainwater and slush, and the front wheel of the vehicle sank into it, tilting the bus on its left in front of Ekya Nava school.

Dashcam footage from a car behind shows that the New Horizon Gurukul school bus was trying to overtake another bus from the left when it went off the road and into the ditch. Onlookers and local residents immediately evacuated the children through the emergency exit door at the rear of the bus.

Local residents reported that the road is riddled with potholes and mud ditches, and such an incident was waiting to happen. Lokesh Kumar, who owns a granite shop near the accident site, said he has seen the condition of the road worsen over the last four years. Pedestrians regularly slip and fall on this stretch, he added.

The primary reason for the slush is the lack of drainage. Jagadish Reddy, an environmental activist and a resident of Varthur, said, “We have been highlighting the pathetic condition of this road for the last 11 years. This used to be a canal, and the government built a road on it without any plan. I have met with accidents several times and damaged my vehicle.”

Meanwhile, after heavy trolling on social media and criticisms over pothole-filled roads, the Bengaluru East City Corporation blamed the incident on the “driver’s negligence”.

Children being evacuated from the emergency exit of the bus that had nearly flipped over | Express

“The driver of the school vehicle negligently overtook from the left side and tried to move forward. As a result, the bus slipped into the roadside drain,” the release added.

“The area has a stormwater drain that carries water to Varthur Lake, and it needs to be repaired. But we cannot repair it because we are trying to widen the road to 18 metres as per CDP norms. We are in talks with private landowners in the area, but they are refusing to give up land,” said an municipal executive engineer.

It is an asphalted road which gets damaged during rain. The civic body is trying to turn it into a concrete stretch, but the volume of traffic there is a big issue, he added.

A spokesperson from New Horizon Gurukul said that all the children and the driver were safely transported back home.