COIMBATORE: While this may not sound out of the ordinary, most buses operated by the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) in Coimbatore division are not equipped with first-aid kits. This despite the fact that nearly Rs 10 lakh have been spent over a span of six painstaking years for the purpose.
These details landed in the public domain after RTI activist Daniel Jesudass moved an application. Most of the conductors Express spoke to backed the information, with some claiming that they had not seen a first-aid kit equipped bus in two years.
“The cost of one first-aid kit is Rs 250. The TNSTC has bought 4,860 kits since May 2011. Chances are high that the authorities created fake accounts and misused public money as many buses do not have many essential items in first aid boxes,” Jesudass told Express.
Alleging a scam in the procurement process, the RTI activist said that first-aid boxes were a necessity as in case of an accident, immediate care can reduce the risk of infection. “It is sad that public money is being misused without considering passengers’ safety,” he added.
The most people can find inside the boxes aboard buses is thin air, says S Chidambaram, general secretary of TNSTC Coimbatore division PMK trade union. “Essential items like bandage, antiseptic wipe and plaster are missing from almost all boxes,” he adds.
“Not just the buses, even branch offices do not have such things. At a tripartite meet (between representatives of government, TNSTC and trade unions) held in 2013, it was agreed that a doctor would be engaged in every branch office to attend to emergencies faced by workers.
It was also agreed that an ambulance would be parked there to take workers to hospital. We have sent several letters reminding the authorities to implement the agreement, but nothing has been done,” he added.
Another issue Jesudass’ RTI information revealed was gross waste of public money due to poor maintenance. A case in point is the expense incurred on tyres. In the six years since May 2011, the TNSTC purchased 34,492 new tyres for the 1,181 buses operated by Coimbatore division. The cost of each tyre was Rs 11,133. It also retreaded 1,41,090 tyres at Rs 2,512 each in the same period.
For Chidambaram, it is a gross waste of public money at the expense of safety. “The corporation is not willing to buy quality tyres, which are necessary considering the condition of roads in the region.
That is why they have to retread or buy tyres repeatedly,” he points out. Conceding that most buses lacked first-aid boxes, a senior TNSTC official pinned the blame on miscreants for stealing the medicines.