Dehradun: The second major road accident in just over a fortnight in the hill state is being blamed on a host of factors including speeding, unfit condition of the state-run bus and construction work being carried out on the stretch on Rishikesh Gangotri National Highway where the bus fell into a gorge.According to Deepak Jain, general manager (operations), Uttarakhand Transport Corporation, said that construction work on the road could have contributed to the accident.Jain, who visited the accident spot, said that the bus which was purchased in September 2013 and had clocked 4.5 lakh kilometres. “Generally, buses that are six years old or those which have clocked more than six lakh km on hilly routes are phased out,” he said.A top official on condition of anonymity told TOI that the bus was not fit to ply on the hilly route. “The axle of the bus was broken and its front wheel came off immediately after it hit the construction material on the road side,” he said.The passengers said that the driver was speeding on the hilly route. “The bus was travelling at a high speed and the driver lost control near a bend,” said Lokesh Kumar, a paramilitary force jawan, who was travelling in the bus.Notably, TOI had earlier reported that speeding has emerged as the biggest killer in Uttarakhand in first six months of 2018 with 256 people losing their lives in 480 accidents caused by speeding or reckless driving.Kewal Khurana, deputy inspector general (DIG) traffic, had told TOI that speeding and rash driving was a major contributor to the accidents in the state. In order to curb the menace, the state police have issued 19,681 challans this year to drivers who were speeding or driving recklessly.

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