Kolkata: Private bus hits two Bangladeshi tourists

KOLKATA: Two Bangladeshi tourists — Shazmila Jishman (22) and her mother Shirin Chowdhury (55) — were injured after being hit by a private bus near Birla Planetarium on Cathedral Road on Sunday. The accident happened when the bus, plying on the route 212 had started moving towards Esplanade after dropping passengers. The duo from Chattogram in Bangladesh got admitted to SSKM Hospital.
The CCTV footage checked by the police showed that the bus was stationary when the two were trying to cross the road. They came in the blind spot of the bus when it started moving. The blind spots are the areas that a driver cannot see either in the mirror or by turning his head.
According to the police, the Bangladeshi residents came to Kolkata for the treatment of Chowdhury. They put up at a lodge on Marquis Street.
The bus driver fled after the accident, leaving the vehicle behind. Cops seized the bus and started looking for the driver.
Cops at Kolkata Police and Bidhannagar Police said many bus accidents happened in the city due to blind spots.
“While passing beside a bus, a pedestrian, cyclist or biker should maintain at least 10 to 15-feet distance from the front of the vehicle,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
Cops have highlighted the hazards of blind spots in their traffic awareness campaigns. The accident on Sunday shows that people continue to jaywalk and cross roads with little traffic awareness. Even hours after the accident TOI found many people were crossing the road in the same area through the blind spots of buses.