Nuh bus tragedy: Ambulances, fire engines took an hour to reach spot
Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, May 18
The KMP bus tragedy, which has claimed nine lives so far, has brought to the fore the absence of mandatory safety and emergency response infrastructure on one of the busiest expressways in the NCR. Recording an average of eight to 10 fatal accidents in a month, the absence of highway ambulances and emergency fire response teams, along with no trauma centre in the vicinity, minimises the chances of survival of accident victims.
Were scared bus might explode
We broke the windowpanes and pulled passengers out with the help of the police. Ambulances and the fire brigade came late. We were scared that the bus might explode. Nafees, an eyewitness
The fire tenders coming from the nearest station took an hour to reach the accident spot. Meanwhile, local villagers of Dhulawat and a police team led by local SP pulled out the survivors and arranged for ambulances. The only trauma centre near the site is at Nalhar Medical College, which is 22 km away from the expressway.
“This is normal. Boys from our village work near the highway and whenever any accident takes place, we only call the police and provide help in whichever way we can. It was one of villagers who drove behind the bus to alert the driver. All villagers reached the spot. We broke the windowpanes and pulled passengers out with the help of police officials,” said Nafees, one of the eyewitnesses.
He further said, “The ambulances came late but fire brigade took the longest to reach the spot. We were scared that the bus might explode. It has been almost 10 years but this highway remains the same.”
The 135-km stretch was inaugurated in 2016 to divert heavy vehicles from Delhi. It became a popular route for those headed to Chandigarh after farmers blocked the Singhu border and since then, over one lakh vehicles pass through it every day. However, it is gripped with myriad of issues such as the absence of designated rest areas, rampant theft of crash barriers and the unchecked parking of trucks.
The Nuh police repeatedly submitted requests for better emergency and road infrastructure to road safety committees. “There are many issues on the highway and we have repeatedly highlighted them. We urgently need trauma centres here. The toll concessionaires should have mandatory trauma vans and ambulances, along with fire tenders on toll gates. Our team reached the spot within 10 minutes and with help of villagers gave best help we could. We got ambulances from nearby private clinics and hospitals,” said Nuh SP Narender Bijarniya.
