Kattappana bus stand is now a ‘danger zone’ for waiting passengers
The lack of safety measures at the bus stand in Idukki district puts passengers at risk, despite repeated incidents and petitions for improved infrastructure.
The lack of safety measures at the bus stand in Idukki district puts passengers at risk, despite repeated incidents and petitions for improved infrastructure.
The lack of safety measures at the bus stand in Idukki district puts passengers at risk, despite repeated incidents and petitions for improved infrastructure.
Kattappana: The lack of stoppers for buses at the Kattappana bus stand in Idukki district poses a serious risk to passengers waiting for buses. However, the authorities have failed to take action to prevent such accidents even after two serious incidents – one in December 2024 and the other last Sunday.
In both these incidents, buses overshot the parking area and hit the chairs for passengers in the bus stand. Buses are parked in the bus bays facing the area where passengers wait. Last December, a parked bus had travelled forward while reversing. On Sunday, the accident occurred when a bus was coming to park.
Passengers sitting on the chairs that were hit by the bus on Sunday escaped injuries as the screws fastening the chairs to the floor came off in the impact. This resulted in the chairs falling backwards. In December, the handrails of the chairs were bent when the bus hit them,and the screws on the floor were detached. A youth who was sitting on one of the chairs escaped because he was saved by the bent handrails and the chairs fell backwards.
A slab of two feet in height has been built in the area between the bus bay and the building complex. A veranda laid with tiles runs adjacent to this slab at a width of 12 feet. The chairs are fixed four feet away from the slab.
As most of the buses are parked with their front tyres touching the slab, their front portion stops a mere one-and-a-half feet from the chairs. Passengers said that the buses should be parked away from the chairs.
Residents of the area had sought urgent safety measures at the bus stand after the incident in December. They pointed out that accidents could happen anytime at the bus stand due to mechanical failures of the buses or lapses on the part of the drivers.
A petition was also filed under the aegis of High Range Bus Souhruda Sangham seeking the construction of a stopper or divider to block the front wheels of buses from entering the bus stand. However, no action followed.