BJP govt's 'negligence' responsible for Uttar Pradesh accident: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the "negligence" of the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh is responsible for the death of 18 people in the accident on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.

He raised several questions on the arrangements available on the expressway and said the incident should be investigated.

Eighteen people died and 19 were injured when a double-decker sleeper bus hit a milk tanker on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Unnao district in the early hours of Wednesday, according to officials. The bus was on its way to Delhi from Motihari in Bihar.

In a post on X in Hindi, Yadav said, "This needs to be investigated that despite the provision of special parking zones on the expressway, why was a vehicle parked in the middle of the road? How did the monitoring of the parked vehicle fail despite the presence of CCTV cameras? Were the CCTV cameras not working?"

"Where was the highway police, and was regular patrolling not being conducted? After the accident, how long did it take for the highway ambulance service to arrive, and what was its role regarding the casualties?"

"If the vehicle was parked due to a breakdown, why did towing assistance not reach it? Crores of rupees are collected daily on the expressway, if this money is not being used for the maintenance and management of the expressway, where is it going?" he asked in the post.

The Agra-Lucknow Expressway was constructed during the Samajwadi Party regime when Yadav was the chief minister.

Contradictory to Yadav's post, which alleged that the accident took place due to the parked vehicle on the expressway, District Magistrate, Unnao Gaurang Rathi said prima facie the bus was speeding and hit the milk tanker from behind, killing 18 people.

Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati condoled the loss of lives in the accident. "My heartfelt condolences. Measures must be taken to prevent such accidents and save lives," she said in a post on X in Hindi.