Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Transport Department has taken action against sleeper buses in the city to ensure passenger safety on Saturday.
After several serious accidents and fire incidents in sleeper buses reported from different parts of the country in recent months, the Indore RTO has started an intensive inspection drive.
Bus operators have been clearly instructed that passenger safety must be the top priority and there will be no compromise with safety standards. In the last two days alone, action has been taken against more than half a dozen sleeper buses.
ARTO Archana Mishra said that on the instructions of the Transport Commissioner, strict compliance of safety standards under bus body codes AIS-119 and AIS-052 is being ensured in sleeper buses.
Recently, ARTO Rajesh Gupta and his team held a meeting with all sleeper bus operators and owners of the district. During the meeting, detailed information about safety rules was given and clear directions were issued to follow them. Bus operators also gave written assurances that within one month they would install FDSS systems in their buses and remove all shortcomings.
The officials claimed that over the past two days, the transport department teams carried out inspections at several locations including Teen Imli Road, Teen Imli Bus Stand, Rajiv Gandhi Square and Choithram Road, as well as bus yards across the city. During the inspections, illegal partition doors were removed from many buses.
In some buses, FDSS systems were not found, while others lacked proper emergency equipment. Due to serious violations, the fitness certificate of a sleeper bus was cancelled immediately. Private ATS centres have also been directed not to issue fitness certificates to buses that do not meet safety standards.
According to the RTO, there are a total of 489 registered sleeper buses in Indore, out of which more than 70 are currently off-road. The Transport Department has made it clear that there will be zero tolerance when it comes to passenger safety and the inspection drive will continue in the coming days.
Officials also informed that sleeper buses must strictly follow mandatory safety rules. These include no partition door between the driver cabin and passenger cabin, complete ban on sliders or storage attached to sleeper berths, mandatory FDSS installation, availability of proper fire extinguishers, sufficient emergency exits, functional VLTD, panic button and speed governor, ban on carrying inflammable materials, compulsory first-aid box and a complete prohibition on driving under the influence of alcohol.
