October 01, 2008	Wednesday	Shawwal 1, 1429

KARACHI, Sept 30: As the relatives of nearly 40 persons mourn the tragic deaths of their loved ones, who died on Monday night in a bus accident travelling from Karachi to Mansehra, passengers leaving the metropolis for their native towns for Eid celebrations remain unaware of the fact that the vehicles they are travelling in are rarely equipped for emergencies.

A discussion with transporters and background interviews conducted with the officials concerned made it clear that there was hardly a single bus operating on intra and inter-provincial routes which met the basic requirements needed to avert mishaps, particularly fire incidents.

As transporters blamed the bad condition of roads and highways as the reason behind fatal accidents on inter-provincial routes, the authorities appeared indecisive about placing the responsibility of checking fitness violations made by the bus owners.

“We fulfil every requirement demanded for such route permits,” said Malik Riaz Awan, president of the Bus Owners Association. “In most of the accidents you will find bad conditions of roads and highways as the major cause. However, the blame is put on the drivers or transporters. We operate services in line with the demand of passengers, while at the same time the government bodies responsible for regulating our operations are satisfied with the way we run our business.”

However, a brief visit to Cantt Station – the point of origin of many such bus services – reveals another story. None of the buses parked at this location are equipped with basic facilities required by the regulatory body before it issues route permits.

Provisions for emergency, which are supposed to be placed at the rear of the vehicle, are found removed from every bus, as a couple of passenger seats are fixed in the designated place to accommodate the maximum possible number of passengers. Similarly, the buses – which travel thousands of miles everyday – do not carry fire extinguishers, which help fighting minor fires.

Rescue tools, which are mandatory for inter-provincial and local bus services and are used to break window glasses to allow an emergency exit, are not found. Transporters admit that every bus – both imported and assembled locally – has such built-in facilities. But they are removed due to the business needs of the transporters.

However, such violations go unchecked due to a lack of coordination among the institutions concerned.

“We are not authorized to keep a check on inter-provincial bus services,” said Wajid Ali Durrani, DIG Traffic. “We are supposed to check vehicles within the city. Not those which operate between two cities. This is the responsibility of an institution under the provincial government.”

Interestingly, an official at the Sindh transport ministry believes that checking the fitness violations of inter-provincial and inter-city bus services was the responsibility of the traffic police and not the Provincial Transport Authority (PTA).“The PTA is responsible for issuing route permits for such services and making them follow the bylaws. The traffic police is responsible for checking their fitness and charging them if they make any violations,” said a senior official.

He said the PTA had recently asked for more authority, which would allow it to check body fitness and other requirements.