None hurt as government bus goes out of control

Passengers in bus route no. 50 and other motorists on Dr. Nanjappa Road in Gandhipuram panicked when the faulty vehicle went out of control and stopped after hitting two roadside temporary shops on Monday morning.

There were more than 70 passengers in the bus heading to Kannamanaickanur from Gandhipuram. The bus hardly crossed a kilometre when the driver Iyyasamy (35) suspected something wrong when the tracking rod fell on the road as a nut got cut around 9.45 a.m.

As the bus went out of control, the driver turned it to the left side of the road. The vehicle rubbed against two temporary shops that were yet to open for the day. Passengers in the bus escaped without injuries.

This resulted in traffic disruption on Dr. Nanjappa Road between Gandhipuram and Park Gate Junction for nearly 30 minutes.

Senior TNSTC officials, however, said that the bus was checked for maintenance on Saturday and the tracking rod was in good condition. They citied poor road condition as reason for the nut to get damaged as the bus plied on the badly damaged roads at Gandhipuram and Thattakalpudur. A technical team was conducting inquiry into the incident.

However, the bus is too old to be on the road. It came into service in 2005.

It has been in use for more than 11 years, against the mandate of keeping buses in use only for seven years and declaring them not road-worthy after seven years.

TNSTC officials said that they had identified 138 buses which were on the road from 2004 - 2005 to scrap them.

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