Sixteen teachers and students from schools in Ponda taluka were injured when a Balrath bus reportedly rammed into a tree at Verlem Ghat, while returning from a field trip to a strawberry farm at Netravali. It is learnt that the Balrath bus was descending a steep slope when the bus driver reportedly noticed some technical fault in the brakes. A major tragedy could have taken place if the bus were to fall off the hill on the other side of the road. It may be recalled that in the month of December, 22 students were injured, four of them sustaining head injuries, after a Balrath bus carrying them veered off the road and landed in a trench before turning turtle near Bali when on its way to Cuncolim. If the bus had to fall into a deep gorge or into the river bed after breaking the railing, the consequences would have been disastrous. If (God forbid) there is one more accident involving the Balrath buses, the students may not be third-time lucky. The government is providing high quality air-conditioned electric buses for the general public while school children are forced to travel to school in rickety buses which have probably outlived their use. It is high time the government utilizes the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) buses to cater to the needs of school students.
