Passengers aboard a Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) bus were left travelling in near-total darkness after the vehicle's headlights reportedly failed during an 84-km journey on the Kalaburagi-Chincholi route. The conductor used the flashlight on his mobile phone to help the driver navigate.
A video of the incident has since gone viral, raising concerns over passenger safety and the condition of the corporation's fleet. According to The Times of India report, the bus was on its final trip of the night when its headlights failed, leaving the conductor to illuminate the road with his phone's flashlight while the driver continued the journey.
Passengers on the route, many of them students and workers travelling to and from rural areas, alleged that the vehicle had been plagued by recurring technical issues for nearly a month, including a faulty lighting system and non-functional headlights. They had said that they had repeatedly been forced to travel in the dark and urged KKRTC officials to repair the bus and deploy a replacement vehicle to ensure passenger safety.
The incident comes against the backdrop of Karnataka's state-run Road Transport Corporations (RTCs) continuing to grapple with financial strain. Responding to a question in the Legislative Council, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said the state government has reimbursed Rs 7,796 crore to the four RTCs under the Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel for women domiciled in Karnataka. However, reimbursements worth Rs 2,182 crore remain pending.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM.
