PESHAWAR: Awami National Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz have demanded of Supreme Court to order probe into the fire incidents in BRT buses and award punishment to the people responsible for purchase of substandard passenger vehicles.

ANP provincial president Aimal Wali Khan in a statement here on Thursday said that seven incidents of fire took place in the BRT buses during one month but government did not disclose actual causes of the fire eruption.

He said that there was no need for the project but it was launched for corruption. He said that it needed proper inquiry to recover the public money and award legal punishment to the people involved in it. He added Supreme Court should take notice of the fire incidents.

The ANP provincial chief said that the incidents proved that the project was launched in haste without any proper planning and designing.

Similarly, PML-N provincial spokesman Ikhtiar Wali Khan demanded inquiry into the fire incidents in the BRT buses and urged government to ensure safety of the passengers.

In a statement here Thursday, he said that government spent billions of rupees on the project but failed to facilitate people. He said that National Accountability Bureau had started inquiry into the funds but the process was yet to be opened. He said it was right time to open the inquiry reports so that the people involved in any kind of corruption could be awarded punishment.

Meanwhile, a BRT spokesman Mohammad Umair Khan in a statement said that the bus service had been suspended temporarily to avoid any untoward incident.

He said that the company would not compromise on safety of passengers and the operation would resume after thorough technical checking by experts.

The spokesman said that the buses were fully warranted and the huge rush of passengers proved that it was a successful project to mitigate miseries of the citizens.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2020