Hyderabad, November 4, 2025 – The investigation into the horrific bus-lorry collision near Chevella that claimed 20 lives on Sunday morning has taken a politically charged turn, with senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao pointing fingers at the state government's flagship free bus travel scheme for women, alleging it fueled deadly overcrowding on the ill-fated TSRTC vehicle. As forensic teams sift through wreckage for clues and the death toll holds steady at 20, bereaved families staged a tearful sit-in outside the Telangana Secretariat today, demanding a thorough accountability probe and an end to "reckless populist policies."
The fiery crash on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, which left over 30 injured, has already exposed lapses in vehicle maintenance and driver fatigue, but Rao's explosive remarks have ignited a partisan firestorm. Speaking at a press conference in Khammam, the 72-year-old Congress Rajya Sabha MP – a veteran of Telangana's statehood movement and close aide to the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy – lambasted Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy's administration. "This tragedy is the blood price of your free rides gimmick. Buses are bursting at seams with triple the passengers, drivers pushed to exhaustion – it's a recipe for disaster," Rao thundered, brandishing photos of the mangled bus. "Overcrowding isn't a bug; it's the feature of this scheme. How many more mothers and children must die before you prioritize safety over slogans?"
Rao's critique stems from eyewitness accounts and preliminary police reports indicating the bus, carrying at least 70 passengers – far exceeding its 50-seat capacity – was packed due to the Mahila Shakti scheme, launched in December 2023 to offer free travel to women. The policy, a cornerstone of the Congress's poll promises, has boosted ridership by 40% but strained the aging TSRTC fleet, with unions repeatedly warning of overloaded routes. Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, defending the initiative, countered that "no evidence links free rides to the crash – the lorry driver was drunk, and the bus brakes failed due to neglect from the previous regime." Yet, internal TSRTC memos leaked to media today reveal chronic understaffing, with drivers logging 14-hour shifts amid a 15% vacancy rate.
At the Secretariat gates, the atmosphere was raw with grief. Over 50 relatives, many from Vijayawada's weaver colonies, gathered under black banners emblazoned with victims' photos, chanting "Justice for Chevella 20." Leading the protest was Sunitha Reddy, whose 8-year-old nephew perished in the blaze. "My sister boarded that bus thinking it was safe – free for women, they said. Now she's childless, and we're homeless from funeral debts," Sunitha wept, clutching a soot-stained toy. The families rejected the government's ₹5 lakh ex-gratia, demanding ₹25 lakh each, jobs for kin, and a judicial inquiry into TSRTC's operations. "Accountability starts with sacking the minister who ignored our warnings," echoed protest coordinator K. Venkatesh, a local auto union leader whose brother was among the dead.
The probe, now led by a three-member committee under Additional Director General of Police (Traffic) J. Shashidhar, has expanded to include forensic analysis of the lorry's black box and blood samples from the drivers – both killed on impact. Early findings point to the lorry veering into oncoming traffic around 4:30 a.m. amid low visibility, slamming into the bus and rupturing its fuel tank. "Overloading amplified the tragedy; the impact flung passengers like ragdolls," Shashidhar told reporters, promising a report within 15 days. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance, summoning officials for a hearing on November 10.
Politically, the accident has cleaved Telangana's ruling Congress, with Rao's barbs embarrassing the high command. Party insiders whisper of internal discord, as the MP – once a Reddy strongman now eyeing a Lok Sabha return – positions himself as a populist critic. BJP state chief G. Kishan Reddy seized the moment, filing a privilege motion in the assembly accusing the government of "endangering lives for votes." BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, whose party pioneered free transport pilots, offered a middle path: "Subsidize, but regulate – cap capacities and upgrade buses."
As Hyderabad's evening traffic hummed past barricades of bouquets at the crash site, the Chevella victims' shadows loomed large. For the survivors, bandaged and bandying stories in hospital corridors, the probe's deepening is scant solace. "Free rides gave us mobility, but at what cost?" pondered injured passenger Lakshmi, a daily-wage worker. In Telangana's corridors of power, today's blame game signals a reckoning: when welfare wheels turn too fast, who pays the toll?
TCO News extends condolences to the bereaved and will provide updates on the probe's findings. For road safety tips or TSRTC complaints, visit tsrtc.telangana.gov.in.
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