Incidents involving two government buses put commuters in a fix in Coimbatore on Friday.
In an incident at Irugur, seven persons including a few women were injured when the bus in which they were travelling met with an accident while it was on a flyover.
Luckily, the bus did not go off the narrow bridge.
A Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) official said that the bus route number 42 running between Ukkadam and Athapagoundanur (beyond Irugur) was on the bridge when the reserve driver (who joined as driver four months ago) lost control over the vehicle.
The bus hit the parapet after the axle got cut.
The impact left the windscreen and glass windows broken.
The injured persons were taken to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital and to a private hospital for treatment.
Traffic police attached to Coimbatore City and District police units visited the place and conducted preliminary inquiries.
Clash
In another incident, dozens of buses plying between Pollachi and Kinathukadavu were stopped in the afternoon after a clash between commuters and a government bus conductor on the route. The protest by government bus drivers and conductors left the commuters stranded on the way for about an hour and a half.
It is learnt that passengers of the bus from Pollachi to Kinathukadavu were angry over the rude behaviour of that conductor.
The commuters said that the conductor shouted at those who did not have change and also forced them to get down from the bus in a hurry.
When the bus reached Mayileripalayam bus stop, a commuter who got down there picked a quarrel with the conductor and there was exchange of blows between them.
A police patrol vehicle came there at that time and the police personnel reportedly used some physical force to put an end to the issue.
Agitated over the issue, the conductor stopped all other government buses that were plying on that route.
Pacified
TNSTC officials and trade union representatives rushed to the place and pacified the agitated drivers and conductors, after which they took their vehicles from there around 12.30 p.m.
