Mangaluru: On the backdrop of the frequent loss of human lives in the Udupi and Dakshina Kannada Districts, public anger has been growing among road users against the uncontrolled private bus operators in these regions. Their anger appears to be turning towards not just the bus owners but also the Transport Department, Police Department and the Regional Transport Authority which is in regulatory role in the District headed by the Deputy Commissioners of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada Districts.
Road safety activists in both Districts accuse the Transport Department and the Police Department of working hand in glove with the private operators. Some of them even went to the extent of saying that the departments were in the pockets of the private bus mafia in the twin districts. “How can they allow the private buses to be driven so rashly inside the city and on the highways jeopardising the public safety both inside the bus and on the roads? When we ask this question at the RTA meetings, the officials say the bus operators have to keep up the timings, especially when they are running within one minute gap during the peak hours and two minutes gap in the non-peak hours. But that does not mean they can throw all the safety rules to the air and operate. Is their daily collection more important than the safety of road users”? asked B K Imtiyaz a road safety activist.
“I have seen private bus drivers speaking on mobile phones, even at the rush hour traffic and chatting to the passengers sitting on the side seats. They yell at the other road users with foul language and even mock policemen on duty. All these show that there is no fear of law and no concern for other road users. Is the police waiting for a big-time mishap to happen within the city when innocent road users have to pay with their lives?” asks Ramachandra Bhat, a senior citizen who is regular and unwilling traveler of the private buses.
Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Districts are the only place in the state where there are buses that are 30 years old which are still on the road. “They are not fit to be on the road, but they do get fitness certificates every year even if the operators do not present them to the transport office for inspection, how is that for safety? mocks the road safety activists of Mangalore. I have seen buses with wobbling steering columns, creaking brakes, and the bodywork that has holes and cracks on the floor and the front cabin. How can the Transport Department allow such vehicles to ply on roads that are very competitive?” asked Road Safety Activist Mukund Kamath.