HRTC staff allege paucity of technical staff, spares

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 6

Following accidents of two Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) buses a couple of days back, transport employees have alleged that there’s a shortage of technical staff in workshops and acute scarcity of spare parts.

By raising these issues immediately after the mishaps, the employees’ Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) is suggesting that the shortcomings could also have played some part in the two accidents.

HRTC Managing Director Sandeep Kumar, however, dismissed the allegations saying that there was neither the shortage of technical staff nor of the spare parts. “The investigation to find out the possible reasons behind the accidents is on. I expect to get the report within a couple of days,” the MD said.

On April 4, an HRTC bus ran into a concrete wall at Pandoh in Mandi, leaving the driver dead and several other injured. On the same day, an HRTC bus caught fire in Chamba. Fortunately, the staff and the passengers managed to disembark safely before the buses was engulfed by flames.

In a press release issued today, the JCC alleged that the bus which collided against the wall was taken to the workshop on April 2 for repairing four defects and the checking of brakes. “There’s, however, an acute shortage of technical staff in the workshop and of spare parts in our stores. As a result, the buses are not repaired on time,” the JCC alleged.

The committee further alleged the HRTC was not doing preventive maintenance of the buses as recommended by the manufacturing companies. “The parts of the buses need to be replaced after a certain period of time or the distance covered as per the manufacturer’s guidelines. However the parts are being replaced only when the buses break down,” the JCC alleged. “Because of this, there’s always an element of risk involved in these buses,” the JCC said.

Demanding that vacancies of technical staff be filled as per norm and the shortage of spare parts be addressed, the JCC demanded that preventive maintenance be resumed so that staff could feel safe. Also, the committee demanded immediate relief for the family of the driver, who was killed in the accident, and the injured conductor.

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