NHRC Seeks Report on Removal of Unsafe Sleeper Buses

Hyderabad:Time may be running out for private bus owners and operators to either implement mandatory safety norms or be prepared to have their buses – especially sleeper coaches — hauled off the roads with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) taking a dim view of compliance of safety norms by state governments.

According to government officials, more than 1,000 private sleeper buses operate from Hyderabad. Official figures are hard to come by but sources said that except for 100 buses, the others were registered in other states. “If the safety norms based on the Central Institute of Road Research’s findings, which were cited by the NHRC in its notices, are anything to go by, every one of these buses will have one violation or the other and will have to go off the roads unless rectifications are done,” a senior official told Deccan Chronicle.

Some action on enforcing safety in such buses is expected after the January 20 hearing scheduled by NHRC. The commission had on January 5 issued notices to chief secretaries of all states to send action-taken reports (ATR) on safety norms compliance by state governments, failing which they will have to present themselves at the January 20 hearing.

The Telangana government has submitted its ATR on notices sent to the owners of buses registered in the state on the points raised by the commission in November in its notices to the states. “We expect that the responses will be coming in the next few days from the bus owners following which further steps will be taken,” the official said.

As long as buses registered outside Telangana have the clearances and permissions from that respective state RTA, immediate action may not be possible even if a violation is noticed. “It is likely that the NHRC will take notice of this situation once it receives reports from all states. It may issues fresh directions on what is to be done about out-of-state registered vehicles which have the necessary documentation,” the official said.

The NHRC, in its January 5 orders, reiterated what it had said in its November communication to all states, citing the CIRT listing the safety norms as per law and making it clear that chief secretaries will be held responsible to “ensure implementation of all CIRT recommendations statewide, including recall and rectification of all sleeper coaches.”

The NHRC’s actions followed a bus fire in Rajasthan on October 14 last year in which 20 people were burnt to death. The commission made it clear that buses that fail any of the safety norms will have to be rectified and made the respective road transport authorities responsible for safety of passengers travelling in such buses.

Following the Rajasthan incident, several more devastating fires in sleeper coaches occurred, including one on October 20 when a Bengaluru-bound sleeper from Hyderabad caught fire after running over a motorcycle on the highway in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, with the incident claiming lives of 20 persons who were burnt alive in the blaze.

Making buses safer

What the Central Institute of Road Research recommended:

Recall all sleeper coaches for immediate removal of driver partition door.

Immediate remove from operations, bus with extension to chassis.

Immediately remove sliders fitted to all sleeper berths.

One month for bus operators to fit fire detection and suppression systems in all sleeper coaches.

Bus registrations must be with Form 22/22A only with approval of approved test agency.

Each bus registration must have lay out drawing with dimensions, door location, emergency exits, roof hatches.

Check bus body builder's accreditation validity at the time of registration

National Human Rights Commission says:

Union ministry of road transport & highways (MoRTH) to issue advisories to all states/UTs to enforce strict compliance with rules regarding registration, renewal, and inspection of buses.

Develop a nationwide mechanism to ensure that no bus body builder or transport operator circumvents mandatory safety requirements.

State chief secretaries to implement all CIRT recommendations, including recall and rectification of all sleeper coaches; compulsory installation of FDSS, removal of prohibited structural elements, and strict checking of accreditation and certification of bus body builders.