Enquiry panel blames poor maintenance, says bus had problem on the morning of the accident too
Enquiry panel blames poor maintenance, says bus had problem on the morning of the accident too
The 35 school students who had a miraculous escape on Thursday when their Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus caught fire because of a reported CNG leak, can blame shoddy maintenance for the accident. The committee investigating the incident of Thursday's fire, has come up with some startling revelations.
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Who checked it? The DTC bus was on the day's first trip yet its battery was not working properly |
According to sources, the Environment and Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) panel looking into the causes of fire, has found the bus was pulled out of service for two days because of a leak in its CNG kit. "The bus had developed a problem of CNG leak two days before the accident. On Thursday morning also DTC employees had to push it before it started. Also various components of the engine were found in a rusted state," said a senior transport department official, wishing anonymity. Sources said, it was the first trip of the bus and its battery was not working properly.
The bus belonged to DTC's East Vinod Nagar depot.
Taking a serious note of the incident, EPCA Chief Bhure Lal has summoned a meeting of officials from the transport department and DTC, along with auto-manufacturers and members of various bus and other transport operators' unions on Monday to discuss the issue.
In the past week four similar incidents of CNG vehicles catching fire have been reported in the city. In the incidents, two Blueline buses went up in flames.
Experts say maintenance of CNG vehicles is being compromised by operators. As per transport department officials, as many as 2,000 vehicles, which include DTC buses, private buses and school buses, have not been checked at authorised CNG checking centres by operators.
Except private vehicles, every CNG vehicle has to go for quarterly checking at authorised centres in the city.
The DTC has a self-regulated mechanism for its bus fitness checking. The buses undergo quarterly fitness checking in DTC depots.
"Old CNG vehicles have an inherent defect in their components. In 2006, the EPCA ordered all manufacturers to rectify the defect and bear the cost. However, the order was not disseminated properly. While some operators rectified the problem investing their own money, around Rs 40,000 in some cases, some obviously did not, to cut costs. In case of DTC buses, as it has a self-regulated mechanism, proper maintenance doesn't happen causing such accident,"u00a0 said SP Singh, coordinator of Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training.
1.3 lakh vehiclesincluding bus, autorickshaws, goods carriers, private cars are running on CNG in the city
