Moved by Kurnool bus accident, students come up with different safety features to reduce fatalities
Students from six southern states showcased innovative projects at the South India science fair in Sangareddy. Inspired by the Kurnool bus tragedy, Andhra Pradesh students developed smart bus safety systems. Several projects have been selected for national-level science fairs
Published Date - 19 January 2026, 07:10 PM
Sangareddy: Students from six southern states have come up with different innovations, which impressed students, teachers and officials who visited the stalls at the South India science fair held at Gaudium School on Monday. Over 200 exhibits from six states are on display and a good number of them have already been selected for the national-level science fair.
The Kurnool bus accident, which claimed 23 lives aboard a private bus, had also moved high school students from Andhra Pradesh. Two different teams from the State have come up with ideas on how to avoid fire accidents or escape from buses if a fire breaks out.
T Sampath Reddy and T Jaswanth Reddy of SKBZP High School in Ganapavaram of Palnadu district have developed a prototype of a smart bus with an automatic fire safety system. Guided by their physics teacher I Sambasiva Rao, the students have installed sensors to continuously sense heat and flames inside the bus, halt the vehicle automatically and open the doors to help passengers escape.
When the sensors detect fire, the automatic alarm system with red lights will warn passengers, besides operating fire extinguishers automatically to restrict the spread of flames. The bus will have a phone that will make emergency calls to police, fire and other departments, besides sharing the GPS location.
Similarly, two girl students of ZP High School, Chataparru, in Eluru district have come up with their own innovation providing several safety features. Interestingly, both the projects have been selected for national-level science fairs.
