Government worried as two low-floor buses catch fire
Government worried as two low-floor buses catch fire
Incidents of fire in two low-floor CNG-fuelled buses on a single day in the city have raised serious doubts about the maintenance of the swanky vehicles the government had so proudly launched about a year ago. Thursday's incidents come after two similar ones in 10 days.
|
|
Hot wheels: The incidents of fire have been a setback for the Delhi government's plan to phase out the fleet of privately-owned Blueline buses before the Commonwealth Games next year and replace them with 3,500 low-floor CNG-fuelled buses. PIC/IMTIYAZ KHAN |
While the government says the incidents are "unacceptable", sources in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) point fingers at the bus manufacturer and supplier, Tata Motors.
This is for the first time that DTC has outsourced maintenance of its buses to the vehicle manufacturer.
Officials in DTC say even after repeated reminders from depot managers, officials from Tata Motors have failed to properly maintain the vehicles. "Tata Motors is not doing the maintenance itself. It has further outsourced the work to local firms. This is the main reason behind the fire incidents. In some cases, the engineers appointed by the local firms are not competent enough," said a senior DTC official, wishing anonymity.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day two buses caught fire in two separate incidents. The bus on Route No 832 between Janakpuri and Inderlok caught fire at Moti Nagar near 5.30 am. No one was injured in the incident.
In the second incident, a bus plying on Route No 404 went up in flames near East of Kailash in south Delhi around 7 am. However, DTC officials said the second fire was a minor one.
DTC Managing Director Naresh Kumar said, "In the second incident, the bus didn't catch fire. There was some problem with its tyre. It was taken to the nearby Sukhdev Vihar depot."
Meanwhile, according to an internal report of the DTC, eight low-floor buses with similar problems are parked in different depots and are not being put into service for fear of a similar mishap.
u00a0
"There is scarcity of spare parts of the buses in the depots. For example, the brake line, a component which should be replaced after every 6,000 to 8,000 km is being changed after 18,000 km," said the senior DTC official.
When contacted, official spokesperson of Tata Motors Debashish Ray said, "The buses have the badge of Tata Motors. We are very proud of our products. We are investigating the incidents."
While referring to the doubts being raised about the improper maintenance of the vehicles, Ray said, "We may or may not have outsourced the maintenance of the buses. I will have to check. But we take the responsibility of maintaining the vehicles and do so diligently. The bus, when checked at the depot in the morning, reported fine. The incident did not happen because of any engine problem. We are ascertaining the cause of the fire. But in the second incident, there was no fire."
Delhi Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely ordered DTC officials to impose a penalty on Tata Motors and ask the company to replace the burnt bus with a new one. "Tata Motors has to improve maintenance of the buses, otherwise strict action will be taken against the company," Lovely said.
The government has constituted a four-member committee to look into the incidents. Two people have been suspended. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said, "We will take action. We don't want such incidents to be repeated. These incidents are completely unacceptable."
Flames from the pastOn November 30, a DTC bus caught fire near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. No one was hurt.
On November 26, a DTC bus carrying around 40 children caught fire in Mayur Vihar area
On November 22, a DTC bus caught fire in Rohini Sector-16. No one was injured
On March 30, a DTC bus caught fire near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Some passengers sustained minor injuries.
