Two school buses stranded on Balagere–Panathur stretch, repeats last week’s incident

Bengaluru: Two school buses got stuck on the Balagere–Panathur stretch on Friday morning, the same location where another bus was trapped last week with 20 children onboard.

One bus was stuck during morning pickup and another during afternoon drop-off. Both incidents involved children onboard, raising parent concerns.

A Christ Public School bus had its front wheel trapped in an open drain on a narrow road. The driver struggled to free the vehicle while traffic halted both ways. A New Horizon Gurukul School bus got stuck in slush, requiring a JCB to extract it.

Dr Sunil Kumar Vuppala, a local resident and parent, said, "The roads here are in dire need of repair and drain pipes. After last week's incident, the drain pipe is being installed."

Another parent, Nilima Kumari, voiced fears: "It takes more than one hour or sometimes two hours to travel just 2.5 km. We are scared to send our children on the road."

Videos of the incidents went viral, sparking outrage over poor infrastructure.

"It is a disaster waiting to happen, anytime. It is sad that children's lives are at risk. The government needs to wake up, it is high time," said an X user.

The Christ Public School bus had its front wheel trapped in an open drain on a narrow road. The driver struggled to free the vehicle. DH PHOTO