Bhubaneswar: Seven people have lost their lives and eight were seriously injured in accidents involving ‘Ama Bus’, operated by the Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), across Odisha in the last one year, Housing & Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
Of the seven deaths, six were reported from Bhubaneswar, the capital city, while one fat
ality was recorded in Cuttack. The highest number of 4 serious injuries also occurred in Bhubaneswar, followed by one each in Puri, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Berhampur.
To address the rising concerns over road safety and curb accidents, the department concerned conducted 28,700 inspections of ‘Ama Bus’ services within the year. The government has also fixed speed limits for different categories of buses – electric buses are restricted to a maximum of 35 kmph, diesel buses to 40 kmph, and services on highways are not to exceed 50 kmph.
This was revealed a day after a mob once again vandalised an Ama Bus after the vehicle allegedly hit a cyclist, injuring the man critically near Palashpalli overbridge.
Notably, Ama Buses have claimed 22 lives and injured over 50 since its inception in 2018.