BHUBANESWAR: A spate of attacks on Ama Bus in full public glare during peak operational hours has exposed the growing lawlessness in the Twin City with passengers feeling unsafe.
In January alone, at least eight buses have come under attack and Commissionerate Police seems unprepared to arrest the trend.
In the latest, an Ama Bus was vandalised near Khannagar in Cuttack on Sunday morning. The bus was diverted on an alternative route due to a scheduled marathon.
During the diversion, a group of autorickshaw drivers stopped the bus and started abusing the driver. They broke the wiper and used it to hit the windscreen, causing extensive damage to the vehicle, said CRUT in a statement.
On Saturday, a minor collision between an Ama Bus and a delivery man’s two-wheeler in Patrapada area of the capital turned into a chaos as a group of people vandalised the bus. Though the motorist was unhurt, locals took the law into their own hands and damaged the bus.
On Friday, a biker driving on the wrong side came in the way of an Ama Bus. The rider did not sustain any injury but some unruly auto-rickshaw drivers and youths threatened the bus driver with dire consequences and pelted stones at the vehicle.
Two more buses were targeted within hours of the incident. Two persons were later arrested.
On January 13, over a dozen Ama Buses en route from Khandagiri to Baramunda were virtually waylaid by autorickshaw drivers over a collision, leading to disruption of services.
The growing number of attacks on city buses not only points at lawlessness but has led to a sense of insecurity among those using the bus service every day. “It’s extremely scary to see the images of a city bus being vandalised in full public glare with women, children and elderly people using it on a daily basis,” said a daily Ama Bus traveler.
Interestingly, the dashcams installed on the Ama Buses have revealed how the transport vehicles are being targeted by the goons, raising serious questions about the safety and security of the passengers, especially the elderly people and the women.
While the Ama Bus service has been at the centre of controversy over careless driving and their involvement in road mishaps, another traveler said, the attacks are not justified.
“Using public transport should be a safe affair. When hooligans pelt stones and hurl abuses at a bus full of passengers, the whole idea of safety is gone,” said a 25-year-old woman who travels from Patia to Jayadev Vihar daily.
What has been a cause of concern is the Commissionerate Police has been unable to arrest such hooliganism despite a rise in incidence. “If police cannot control such elements, what is the point of maintaining law and order,” said Amar Mohapatra, an old resident of the city.
CRUT sources said at least nine Ama Buses were vandalised by the miscreants this month itself in the Twin City of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack as well as in Rourkela. The damage to the property stood at Rs 3.90 lakh this month alone. Such acts of violence and vandalism against the public transport services are condemnable, it added.