Two days after Chevella road accident, road repair works yet to begin

Not much has changed at the spot at Mirjaguda near Chevella on Hyderabad outskirts. The improperly, inadequately filed pothole remains there. Top police officials said the gravel-laden lorry driver rammed into an oncoming TGRTC bus to avoid this pothole on Monday morning.  

Drivers of both the lorry and the bus died along with 17 others, while several sustained injuries in this gory road crash. Forty-eight hours after the accident nothing has changed at the accident spot. The pothole is not yet completely filled. Apparently it was filled hurriedly with some concrete mixture, that too unevenly. There are scores of such potholes on this road without a median — barring some stretches — from Chevella to Tandur. The tragic accident has not yet moved the authorities to take up road repair work. “This road remained pathetic with potholes, uneven, without median for over past decade. The authorities are so thick-skinned that even 19 deaths in a single accident are not enough to impact them,” says Jangaiah of Chevella. 

People coming from Tandur-Parigi can notice bumps a few metres before the accident spot. The road is uneven before the accident spot, with sides of the tar road slightly tilted. The pothole, believed to be one of the main factors for the accident, is still posing dangers to the commuters on this road. 

All that has changed is vehicle drivers coming from both sides slowing down as they come closer to the accident spot and speaking with others on how horrific the accident was. The Chevella police, who registered a case under sections 106 (1) and 125 (a) of BNS, began their investigation. 

The case in all likelihood would end up as ‘action abated’ since the driver of the lorry accused of ploughing into the bus is already dead. The issues relating to the complicity or negligence of the lorry owner with regard to loading the lorry with gravel beyond its permitted capacity are yet to be ascertained. 

The investigators are verifying the Registration Certificate of the lorry to know its Registered Laden Weight (RLW) and unladen weight to assess if it was carrying overload of gravel. The rules mandate that lorry driver or owner should ensure the material being transported is covered by tarpaulin or any other means so that it would not spill onto the road during transportation.