The blaze, which erupted around 3 a.m., reduced the vehicle to a charred wreck, trapping passengers inside due to jammed emergency exits and inadequate safety measures. Among the victims was 23-year-old Anusha, an Accenture software engineer from Hyderabad, whose parents' grief has captured the nation's attention, underscoring the human toll of what authorities suspect was a gas leak from the vehicle's kitchenette igniting dry grass beside the road.

Anusha, who joined Accenture in Bengaluru last August after a campus placement, had returned home for Diwali festivities before boarding the bus for her routine commute back to work. Her father, overwhelmed by regret, lamented to reporters, "How I wish my daughter never got that job in Bengaluru," his voice breaking as he recalled waving her off at the bus stand the previous evening. Anusha's mother echoed the sentiment, whispering through tears, "I had told my daughter to extend her stay," a plea that now haunts her as a missed chance to alter fate. The couple's inconsolable anguish reflects the shattered dreams of a bright young professional, whose promising career was cut short in an instant, highlighting the perils faced by millions of migrant workers reliant on intercity transport.

The tragedy also claimed Meghnath, a recent graduate who had started his job in Bengaluru just five months prior, leaving his mother in a state of raw denial at the accident site. She collapsed in sobs, pleading, "My son cannot go away like this—how will I live without him?" Survivor Guna Sai, recovering in a local hospital, provided a harrowing firsthand account of the chaos: thick smoke filled the cabin in darkness, with passengers pounding futilely on unbreakable windows lacking emergency hammers. "The driver did not help," Sai recounted, crediting his escape to a desperate jump through a glass pane possibly shattered from outside. His testimony has fuelled public fury over systemic lapses in bus safety, including unverified vehicles and ignored regulations for fire extinguishers and quick-release exits, issues repeatedly flagged by transport experts but rarely enforced.

Also Read: Bengal Holds High-Level Review Meeting After Hospital Crimes, Focus on Women’s Safety

Telangana Transport Minister Jupally Krishna Rao swiftly condemned the incident, pinning responsibility on the driver and the private travel agency for negligence, and vowed compensation along with stringent legal action. Kurnool Superintendent of Police G. Vikrant has launched a forensic probe to ascertain the fire's precise cause, including mechanical failures or overcrowding. As identification efforts continue amid DNA sampling for charred remains, the accident has reignited demands for nationwide reforms: mandatory panic buttons, GPS tracking, and annual audits for all interstate buses. For families like Anusha's, however, no policy shift can mend the void left by a journey meant for homecoming that ended in ashes, serving as a stark reminder of the urgent need to prioritise lives over profit in India's overburdened road network.

Also Read: Target Plans to Reduce 1,800 Corporate Jobs in Major Restructuring