Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 28 Aug: A school bus carrying nearly 40 children overturned and fell into a roadside ditch near Jaipuri Bisa village along Bareilly Road in Haldwani today. The mishap occurred this morning when the bus was transporting the children to their school. As soon as the bus overturned, there was chaos and screams from the children and passers-by. Local villagers, responding swiftly, broke the bus windows and rescued all the students trapped inside. More than a dozen children sustained injuries and were immediately admitted to a private hospital for medical attention. The driver and conductor of the bus also suffered serious injuries.
The accident has caused considerable commotion in the area, prompting widespread concern among residents.
The parents, upon receiving news of the accident, rushed to the school premises in a state of panic to ascertain the safety of their children. The bus belonged to a reputed private school and was ferrying students from the Rampur Road locality to Padampur Devaliya village in the Motahaldu area. Eyewitness accounts revealed that the accident occurred near the Padampur-Devaliya intersection, where two school buses were reportedly attempting to overtake each other. In the process, one of the buses veered dangerously close to the edge of the road and toppled into a ditch. The moment the bus overturned, terrified children began screaming, drawing the attention of nearby villagers who promptly rescued them and transported the injured to the nearest hospital.
The eyewitnesses, including the village Pradhan Ramesh Chandra Joshi, attributed the accident to the reckless behaviour of the bus drivers. They claimed that negligence was the primary cause. Joshi confirmed that around 40 children were on board, with more than a dozen sustaining injuries. Joshi further levelled serious allegations against the district administration, asserting that despite the gravity of the incident, no officials arrived at the scene. He emphasised that it was solely the local residents who undertook the rescue operation and ensured that the injured were taken to hospital.
The villagers also raised concerns about the conduct of private school bus drivers in the area, alleging that many operate vehicles under the influence of alcohol. They also reminded that similar incidents have occurred in the past, yet neither the district administration nor the school authorities have taken corrective measures. Joshi pointed out that the location of the accident featured a roadside drain, and a more severe tragedy was averted only because the drain was dry at the time.
