CHENNAI: Circumventing Tamil Nadu government’s blanket cover on permits for sleeper-coaches, private Omni bus operators from Tamil Nadu are registering their fleets of luxury sleeper-coaches as far as states in the northeast of India for plying back home to Tamil Nadu. Sleeper-coaches are air-conditioned luxury buses with several having upper and lower berths for passengers.
Tamilnadu Omni Bus Owners Association’s (TOBOA) president, A Afzal, said that Omni bus operators are applying for permits in other states as permits for sleeper-coaches are not issued in Tamil Nadu.
“Taxes to the tune of `25,000 for each sleeper-coach bus must be paid to the government every week to operate in Tamil Nadu. Operators are also ensuring that all safety features are available in their buses,” Afzal stressed.
Sleeper-coach luxury buses are being registered in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Odisha and Puducherry and running in Tamil Nadu. Road safety activists, recalling accidents involving these fleets a few years ago, are raising eyebrows over the possibility of these buses not adhering to safety standards. Tamil Nadu was witness to two major road accidents involving luxury sleeper-coach buses when 31 people were charred to death in 2011.
Automotive Research Association of India Research Institute, under the aegis of the Union of Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, prescribes designs for fleets, including sleeper-coach buses. Activists question the Omni bus operators’ adherence to these rules.
“The Transport Department in Tamil Nadu does not issue permits for sleeper coaches. In such a scenario, who will ensure that these buses with permits from other states are not violating stipulated norms,” asked V S Suresh, an advocate dealing with Motor Vehicle accident cases.
Similarly, S Mohanram of Consumer Council based in Tirunindravur claimed that passengers travelling in these coaches are not being briefed on the safety features in the event of an emergency.
Presently, out of the 1,000 buses belonging to operators affiliated with the Tamilnadu Omni Bus Owners Association, about 400 sleeper-coach buses are registered in other states.
When contacted, an official with the Transport Department said that they are forming teams to inspect these buses to ensure that safety features are in place, as part of a safety-drive during the Pongal festival.
“We have also asked them to screen safety measures that passengers should take in the event of any emergency on TVs in the buses,” the official added.