Cuttack: The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Thursday sought information on passengers who were either killed or injured when a luxury bus fell off the Mahanadi bridge here Tuesday.
The district administration has received a communiqué in this regard from the PMO, said a source.
A 10-member committee, constituted to look into various aspects of the bus mishap, Thursday submitted its report to Cuttack regional transport officer (RTO) Diptiranjan Patra. “The probe report would be submitted to the state government,” Patra said.
According to the report, the luxury bus, purchased around two years ago, had a speed governor. However, there was no confirmation whether the speed governor was functioning properly on the fateful day.
The report claimed that the two front wheel tyres of the bus burst when it hit a buffalo on Mahanadi bridge. “The driver lost control over the vehicle due to this. The bus travelled over the bridge footpath for a few minutes before falling into the Mahanadi after crashing through the guard wall which was constructed long ago. Hence, it was easily damaged,” said Cuttack motor vehicle inspector Rashmiranjan Dalbehera, a member of the probe committee.
Sources in the Transport department, meanwhile, claimed that the bus met with the mishap after passing over the carcass of a buffalo on the bridge. “Some cattle traders might have dumped the carcass on Mahanadi bridge,” said an official of the Transport department. RTO Patra said they would conduct further investigation to ascertain whether the bus driver had consumed liquor.
Earlier, the probe team comprising officials from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), state Transport department and police visited the mishap spot and examined the bus. Two engineers of a motor vehicle manufacturing company were also present during the probe.
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