The devastating bus fire near Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, on Friday, October 24, 2025, which claimed the lives of 19 people, has triggered a wave of condemnation and scrutiny, with a Telangana minister pointing fingers at the driver and the travel company involved. The incident has brought to light the dangerous combination of human error, corporate negligence, and safety violations that plague the private interstate travel sector.

Telangana Excise Minister Jupally Krishna Rao has squarely blamed the bus driver and Kaveri Travels for the tragedy, vowing strict punitive action. According to Rao, the driver failed to stop the bus immediately after it collided with a motorcycle, which ultimately led to the fire due to friction between the bus and the motorcycle. The minister criticized the driver's subsequent actions of attempting to extinguish the fire with water and then fleeing the scene, leaving passengers behind, stating that alerting passengers and guiding them towards safety could have prevented fatalities.

Rao also held Kaveri Travels accountable for failing to provide proper crisis management training to its employees. He advocated for stringent legal consequences against the company, suggesting hefty fines as a deterrent for other travel firms to prioritize passenger safety over profits. Echoing this sentiment, Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar warned that negligent operators may face charges of murder.

The investigation into the incident has revealed that the bus had undergone unauthorized modifications from a seating arrangement to a sleeper coach, compromising safety standards. It also lacked essential safety equipment, such as mini-hammers for breaking windows during emergencies, and did not comply with fire retardancy norms. Further investigation showed that the bus had 16 traffic violations registered against it in Telangana and a fine of ₹23,120 was pending against the vehicle.

In the wake of the tragedy, authorities in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have vowed to strengthen regulations and enforcement mechanisms within the private inter-state travel industry. The Telangana government has already set up a helpline in Hyderabad to provide assistance to the families of the victims.

The incident has sparked widespread concern about the safety of sleeper buses, with many experts citing a lack of safety measures, over-speeding, and reckless driver behavior as major contributing factors to accidents. Calls for a nationwide ban on sleeper buses are also surfacing.