In a shocking case of rash driving, two persons, including a woman, were killed and seven people were injured in a bus accident on the iconic Howrah bridge in Kolkata. (ANI image)

In a shocking case of rash driving, two persons, including a woman, were killed and seven people were injured in a bus accident on the iconic Howrah bridge in Kolkata, according to ANI report. The incident took place during the morning rush hour today. It has been learned that the bus overturned after hitting a road divider while trying to overtake another bus, a senior officer of Kolkata Traffic Police was quoted as saying by PTI. The injured were rushed to a hospital and the accident caused a huge traffic jam on the bridge. The driver managed to flee the spot after the incident. The officer said that they were checking whether there was any technical problem with the bus or whether there was any fault on the part of the driver of the other bus.

Earlier West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had voiced her concern over the rising number of road accidents in the state and country. She had said that traffic rules should be modified and pitched for stricter action against the violators. On March 3, the Chief Minister had said that rough driving and racing with bikes have become a common picture on city roads and she would advice the police to seize motorcycles if such cases were witnessed. Stating that the Motor Vehicle Act does not give provision to deal with every traffic problem in the state, Banerjee said Bengal should have its own Act and framed rules and regulations to deal with the traffic problem.

In July last year Banerjee had launched the Safe Drive Save Life campaign eyeing to inculcate a sense of safe driving and responsible road behaviour. She had also directed that bikers would not be provided fuel at gas stations if they dont wearing helmets.