The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) has finally woken up from its slumber, though it took the horrific rape case of a 26-year-old woman inside a Shivshahi bus at the Swargate depot to prompt this response.
Following the uproar triggered due to the rape case, the transport body has increased the security staff at the depot from 23 to 36, which includes five female security guards. Additionally, 16 more CCTV cameras will be installed at the depot. Currently, there are only 18 active CCTV cameras.
Along with this, the MSRTC has also removed the buses abandoned on the premises of the depot, following a report by The Free Press Journal. The buses had been left unattended, with several items such as condoms, innerwear, saris, blankets, liquor bottles and cigarette packets found inside them.
Speaking to this newspaper, Promod Nehul, MSRTC's Pune division controller, said, "The unused buses have been removed from the Swargate ST stand and shifted on the premises of the MSRTC workshop at Dapodi. These buses will be sold out in a scrap auction later."
Regarding the safety measures undertaken, he said, "The inspection of buses has been started, such as the checking of the bus door, lock system and lights in the bus. Streetlights at the ST stands have been inspected. A dedicated team has been deployed to conduct inspections on a daily basis. We have also sent a proposal to increase the security staff at the ST stands. Also, the tender of installing more CCTV cameras for all the MSRTC bus stations in Pune district has been sanctioned."
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik has ordered a security audit of all MSRTC bus stations and depots. He announced that CCTV cameras, GPS systems and panic buttons would be made mandatory in approximately 15,000 MSRTC buses, including those leased from private contractors. Sarnaik also stated that all unused buses and vehicles parked inside MSRTC depots across the state would be disposed of before April 15 this year.
MSRTC operates around 580 bus stands and 251 bus stations across Maharashtra. Currently, MSRTC has approximately 2,700 security guards hired through various security boards.
