Palampur bus mishap: Cong demands FIR against HP minister

"It is shocking that a 17 year old bus, which had outlived its life, was allowed to ply, endangering the lives of people," party general secretary Ram Lal Thakur said.

He also demanded a high level judicial enquiry into 3,000 deaths in various bus accidents in the state in the past three years.

Himachal Congress general secretary Sudhir Sharma said over 600 lives were lost roads mishaps this year.

The Congress leaders said indiscriminate privatisation of road transport by the ruling BJP has resulted in the private sector having a fleet of 3,500 buses as against 2,018 bus fleet of state-run buses.

They claimed the losses of HRTC have mounted to Rs 576 crore and the corporation has failed to replace nearly 400 buses that have outlived their life.

The Congress leaders said 98 per cent of the total population in the state are dependent on road transport but the safety of passengers has completely been neglected by the ruling BJP and overloading and roof travelling has become a common feature in rural areas.

As many as 34 people died when a state-run bus skidded off the road and fell into a 1,000-metre-deep gorge near Malli on Palampur-Ashapuri road in Kangra district on September 10.