Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A week-long state-wide drive by police found 4,209 buses operating without mandatory safety features such as emerg- ency exits, fire extinguishers and first-aid boxes, prompting authorities to impose penalties of Rs 33 lakh on violators.
In the wake of multiple inci- dents in which emergency exit gates in buses were found closed, the Police Training and Research Institute (PTRI) de- cided to launch a drive to check the status of passenger buses. The PTRI instructed all district units in the state to conduct a special checking drive on emergency exits in buses from May 21 to 27.
During the drive, more than 4,800 buses were found viol- ating norms. The police col- lected a penalty of Rs 33 lakh from the violators. Among the major violations, 4,209 buses were found lacking emerg- ency exit doors, fire-safety equipment and first-aid facil- ities. One driver in Damoh was also found driving a bus in a drunken state.
Rs 33 lakh penalty collected
The police recovered a pen- alty of Rs 33 lakh from the vi- olators. The penalty was imposed on 26 buses running without registration, 27 buses without fitness certificates, 12 buses operating without per- mits and 461 overloaded buses.
Gwalior, Ujjain lead enforcement drive
Small districts like Maihar, with 92 actions, and Pand- hurna, with 117, followed the PHQ instructions promptly. Bhopal urban police found only 34 buses violating norms, while Bhopal rural police de- tected 110 violations. Gwalior police took action against 431 buses, while Ujjain police took action against 292 buses dur- ing the week-long drive.
Some districts reported zero violations
Interestingly, some districts failed to effectively implement the PHQ's directions during the week-long drive. Districts such as Guna and Katni re- ported no action against buses.Other districts, includ- ing Bhind (4), Datia (9), Ratlam (13) and Panna (8), reported only a handful of actions.
