Overloaded buses flout safety norms
Satinder Pal Singh
Dera Bassi, November 24
The lives of daily commuters as well as that of schoolchildren travelling to and from school in overcrowded mini buses every day is fraught with danger.
Despite the issue being highlighted several times, nothing has changed on ground, except statements by officials whose claims have fallen flat.
With the local administration choosing to look the other way, overloading in buses, mini buses and tempos goes on unchecked, especially in rural areas notwithstanding the fact that people have lost their lives in accidents over the past months.
Students can be seen sitting atop mini buses and sometimes clinging to the doors of moving vehicles in Dera Bassi, but the authorities concerned hardly take notice of the violation. Whether it is ferrying passengers from designated bus stops, blowing pressure horns, speeding or overloading, private bus operators are often seen indulging in such practices.
The overloaded buses mostly ply on rural routes in the city and are a common sight in various parts of the city as most of them start from the local bus stand.
In a bid to make profit, bus conductors and drivers continue to violate traffic norms by putting lives of thousands of passengers at risk every day. They pack their buses beyond the capacity. “There is no regulation of traffic rules and the police do not keep a check on overloaded vehicles,” said Anil Sharma, a resident.
“In the past also, the issue of overloading was highlighted, but the drivers continue to accommodate passengers more than their carrying capacity and take the traffic rules for a toss,” rued another resident.
Though the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), in association with the traffic police in the past, stepped up its drive to curb the menace of noise pollution caused by the use of pressure horns by drivers of trucks and buses, the problem still persists.
When contacted, Paramjit Singh, SDM, Dera Bassi, said, “I have already given instructions to the police to take action against the drivers indulged in overloading vehicles.” He would look into the matter, he added.
