KURNOOL: Following the major accident, which claimed the lives of 14 persons, at Madar Puram village in Veldurthi mandal of Kurnool district, officials of transport, national highway, police and other stakeholders began finding out the reason for frequent accidents on NH-44.
It may be recalled that on May 12, 2019, a major road mishap, which took place at just 2.5 kilometers away from the present accident spot in Veldurthi, claimed 17 lives. Speaking to The New Indian Express, DTC Kurnool B Chander said as per preliminary information, the accident occurred due to negligent driving by the mini-bus driver. It is learnt that the driver dozed off at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle resulting in the mishap.
The mini bus, which was carrying 18 persons, hit the road divider at a high speed, jumped over the divider and collided with a lorry coming from the opposite direction on the other side of the road. The bus was going from Madanapalle in Chittoor district to Ajmer in Rajasthan.
“The bodies of the deceased were mutilated beyond recognition,” the Veldurthi police said. The deceased include eight women, five men and a minor. According to the Aadhaar cards obtained from their belongings, it was found that the victims belonged to Madanapalle in Chittoor district.
District Collector G Veerapandian and SP K Fakeerappa rushed to the spot and supervised the relief works. They directed Kurnool government general hospital doctors to provide better medical treatment to the injured. “We have contacted the family members of the deceased through the Collector and SP. After completing post-mortem, we will shift the bodies to Madanapalle,” Veerapandian said.
Officials to draw up plan to curb mishaps
Collector Veerapandian and SP Fakeerappa decided to hold a review meeting to discuss the strategy to curb road accidents in the district
A detailed report will be submitted to the government soon
A special team will visit all the black spots on national highways and main roads
It is learnt that there are no engineering defects at the accident spot and structure of the road is also according to the specifications