Overloaded buses still plying in Sirmaur a month after Haripurdhar bus tragedy

Overloaded private buses can be seen plying in Sirmaur district barely a month after the tragic Haripurdhar bus accident in which 14 passengers had died and 68 were injured.

The report of an inquiry into the January 9 Haripurdhar accident submitted to the district administration had identified gross overloading as the main cause of the tragedy. According to the findings, a bus with a sanctioned seating capacity of 39 was carrying 82 passengers at the time of the accident. The poor condition of the road was also cited as a reason. Despite these clear conclusions, private bus operators are still continuing with unsafe transport practices while an effective deterrent remains elusive.

Fresh visuals that surfaced on social media on February 9 showed an overloaded private bus plying on the National Highway-707 in the Trans-Giri region of the Shillai constituency. The images, reported to have been recorded exactly one month after the Haripurdhar tragedy, show a bus packed with passengers well beyond the permitted capacity, with several persons sitting on its roof. Sources say that some of those travelling in crowded private buses are school students.

Local residents are upset over the situation and blame an acute shortage of government transport services in the remote Trans-Giri belt for overloading in private buses. “There are very few government buses on this route. If we wait for them, we miss work, school and medical appointments. We are forced to board overloaded private buses though we know our lives are at risk,” says Vikram Thakur, a resident of the area.

Another local commuter, Ravina Sharma, says that overloaded buses plying in the district are a common sight. “After every accident, there are promises of strict action but within days everything returns to usual. Overloading continues and no one stops these buses. Poor people have no choice but to travel in overloaded buses,” she adds.

Residents also allege that the absence of regular checking by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the Police Department has encouraged private operators to flout safety norms with impunity. “If there are regular checks and enough government buses, no one will dare to overload his vehicle. The system itself is pushing us to risk our lives every day,” says Bhawan Singh, another villager.

The continued traffic rules violations soon after a fatal accident raising serious questions about accountability. Locals have demanded immediate strengthening of government transport services in the Trans-Giri region and strict action against private operators violating traffic rules to avoid the recurrence of the Haripurdhar like tragedy.