The Karnataka government has stopped operation of interstate luxury coach buses that have failed to comply with the latest rules and regulation in connection with emergency exit door norms.
12 May 2014 | 6781 Views | By Jaishankar Jayaramiah
The Karnataka government has stopped operation of interstate luxury coach buses that have failed to comply with the latest rules and regulation in connection with emergency exit door norms. The state government has prevented such buses from entering into Karnataka since the past week.
The Karnataka government had made ...
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The Karnataka government has stopped operation of interstate luxury coach buses that have failed to comply with the latest rules and regulation in connection with emergency exit door norms. The state government has prevented such buses from entering into Karnataka since the past week.
The Karnataka government had made emergency exit doors mandatory in buses after 45 people were charred to death when a Volvo bus, run by a Bangalore-based private operator, caught fire near Mahbubnagar in Andhra Pradesh on October 30, 2013. Seven people died in a similar accident near Haveri on November 14, 2013.
After several months of discussions with private and government bus operators, the government had given them time till April 30 for all bus operators to provide emergency exit way in the buses plying in Karnataka.
Starting from the first week of May, the Karnataka government has started cracking the whip on bus operators who have failed to adhere to rules that made mandatory for buses to have emergency exit doors. Currently the state government is said to be going tough on more than 700-plus private buses, plying from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, mainly air-conditioned single and multi-axle luxury buses.
It is learned that the government has now extended the complying period till May 31 for interstate government bus operators to fit emergency exit doors but not for private bus services. As private bus operators had already been given enough time to comply with the latest law, no more relaxation will be offered, a top official in the transport department told Autocar Professional. Buses being operated from Tamil Nadu and Kerala are being stopped at the state border at Hosur for the past one week, the official added.
Tamil Nadu-based KPN Transport, Kerala-headquartered Kallada Travels and other few transport companies operate over 400 luxury coach buses from various destinations in south India to Karnataka.
According to industry sources, private bus operators in Tamil Nadu and Kerala are now sending their vehicles to body building workshops in Namakkal and Karur region in Tamil Nadu to create emergency exit door provision in their vehicles.
The sudden rush from private bus operators is keeping Namakkal and Karur-based body building workshops busy. The process of altering buses to create emergency exit door is time consuming as it involves fabrication and repainting of the vehicle, industry analysts said. It is expected that it would take at least another month for these operators to create provisions in hundreds of their buses.