QUEEN’S ROAD: Many of Bangalore Metropoliton Transport Corporation’s (BMTC) buses have no first aid kits, failing to completely with mandatory safety regulations.
Central Motor Vehicles Act of 1989 states that buses must have safety equipment like first-aid kits, fire extinguishers and emergency exits.
The first-aid kit must contain a tube of antiseptic cream, containing 0.5 per cent of Centrimide BP in a non-greasy base, sterilised gauze, waterproof plaster and bandaids.
A quick reality check of revealed that most of the new BMTC buses had built-in emergency exits but lacked first-aid kits. The older white-and-blue buses had small boxes with cotton wool and gauze. Fire extinguishers were not found in any bus. Of 10 buses plying different routes, half had no first aid kits, the other half had no emergency exits and none had fire extinguishers.
When contacted, a BMTC spokesperson said, “The officials at the BMTC Depot are supposed to check the supplies in the buses and replenish them as needed.”
Annual check-ups are conducted by BMTC inspectors on the buses, and when something that must be there isn’t there, the officials concerned are informed, she added.
Transport Commissioner Ramegowda said that regular checks were to be carried out in all school buses and public transport vehicles. “The contents of the first aid kit have to be replenished on a daily basis,” he said. “We do checks regularly.”
When asked, however, whom passengers can complain to if they notice a lacunae in safety measures, he said, “They could call anyone responsible — the transport department, the police.”