Maddur: Eight injured as KSRTC bus hits students

Seven college students were severely injured when a reckless driver mowed into a crowd of students who were waiting for the bus at KSRTC bus stand in Maddur on Monday.

Irked over the same, the other students staged a stir blocking the road seeking suitable compensation to the injured.

The severely injured have been identified as Nandish, B Com student of H K Veerannagowda College, Sachin and Arun Kumar of Bharathi College, K M Doddi, were severely injured when the bus ran over their legs. They have been admitted to district hospital for additional treatment .

Mahesh, Yashwant, Siddegowda, Sharat of K M Doddi Bharathi College, Mahadevu, PU student of Town government PU College are being treated at the town hospital in Maddur.

It is said that the students were waiting for the bus at Maddur bus stand at around 8.30 am when a KSRTC bus proceeding to Kollegal from Bangalore arrived at the spot. The bus driver allegedly lost his control over the wheels and rammed into a group of students standing near the scooter stand and came to a halt after hitting the fence of the bus stand.

Protest

Irked over the negligence of the bus driver the students who were witness to the incident staged a snap stir stopping KSRTC buses from leaving the premises. Upon coming to know about the incident, Suvarna Karnataka Rakshana Vedike state convener M N Prasannakumar,  Naveenkumar and others arrived at the spot and extended their support. They demanded a compensation of Rs 8 lakh to each injured and also jobs for them in KSRTC. The protest continued for more than three hours. Hundreds of transport buses came to a grinding halt causing inconvenience to the commuters.

KSRTC divisional controller Sriram arrived at the spot and pacified the students. They also distributed a temporary relief of Rs 10,000 to three students who were severely injured. The protest was withdrawn after Sriram assured to arrange for suitable compensation after discussing with the higher officials.

Speaking to media, Sriram said additional buses would be plied between K M Doddi and Mandya in the morning and evening time for the benefit of the students. Stern action would be taken on the negligent driver, he said.