KSRTC should be asked to reconsider its decision to purchase 12 multi-axle Volvo buses for Kerala-Bangalore services in view of repeated accidents, demands a petition filed before the Kerala high court.
The petition was filed by Chittur-based (Palakkad) bus passengers’ association secretary M Abdul Kareem, through advocate G Hariharan.
Two recent accidents involving Volvo buses –– one at Haveri in Karnataka and the other at Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh –– have been highlighted in the petition. The accident at Haveri resulted in the death of seven passengers and injuries to 33. In the Mahbubnagar accident, 45 passengers were charred to death. In both the accidents, rupturing of diesel tank was the cause of the fire, the petitioner has alleged.
Further, KSRTC’s proposal to buy Volvo buses at Rs 98 lakh each is without inviting any competitive tenders from bus manufacturers such as Scania, Corona, and Mercedes Benz, the petition said.
Most of the 60 buses, purchased by KSRTC under the JNNURM scheme, are already in the garage for want of proper maintenance. The KSRTC’s Ernakulam depot had to spend Rs 14 lakh on maintenance of these low-floor buses in October while earning Rs 4.5 lakh, it is alleged.
The road conditions in Kerala is not suitable for multi-axle buses in view of the limited road width even on national highways. Therefore, spending Rs 12 crore would be a waste, the petition stated.
Times of India
