20190507 Mumbai: Manufacturer, not BEST officials, should probe bus fire, says panel
India May 06 2019 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 0 or unknown Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
Mumbai: Manufacturer, not BEST officials, should probe bus fire, says panel
Updated: 2019–05–07
MUMBAI: Had a passer-by not alerted a BEST driver about a spark underneath the bus, the latter would have not got time to escape to safety along with four passengers in Dindoshi, Goregaon (E), a few days back.
This was revealed at the BEST committee meeting, where members raised the issue of passenger safety. They demanded a detailed inquiry by the bus manufacturer instead of BEST officials, citing how Boeing 737 Max aircraft were recently grounded over safety concerns. “We want our buses to be thoroughly checked and certified as safe,” said BMC Opposition leader Ravi Raja.
BEST general manager Surendrakumar Bagde said no bus will leave any of the 27 depots unless it goes through 100% safety compliance inspections, including checks on CNG tanks and kits, as prima facie, a gas leak caused the blaze at Goregaon. A detailed report on the fire will be presented to the committee at the next meeting.
“We will not compromise on passenger safety and will conduct gas/CNG-related tests in buses to find out what went wrong,” he said. Of BEST`s 3,337 buses, around 1,800 ply on CNG.
Raja said there was a shortage of maintenance staff. “This is serious issue, as we will have to deploy more staff for maintenance at depots,” he said.
Web Source: The Nation