THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fingers are pointing at the role of the motor vehicle department (MVD) in allowing blatant violation of rules by scores of tourist bus operators in the state. The department has woken up after the major accident in Vadakkenchery that snuffed out nine lives on Thursday. A single-day crackdown under Operation Focus 3 that resulted in action against 134 contract carriages and extracting a fine of Rs 21.6 lakh points to the impact the enforcement agency can have to curb violation and ensure safety of people, according to experts in the transport sector.
They pointed out that the department goes into a lull period during which a large number of offenders are back to their rule violation. It should be noted that a similar drive named Operation Focus 2 was carried out between April and June. It was launched after an accident during a college trip from Kerala in Goa. The drive resulted in finding 3,888 offences and extracting Rs 26.6 lakh in fines.
The rule says that all buses should have a uniform body colour (gold and violet colour lines on white paint). But even that is not being followed by many of the buses involved. The operations of many buses remain unruffled as these buses enjoy large support on social media for the features which are prima facie an offence.
“The enforcement officers are reluctant to work in the field. If they do field work at least on alternate days, it makes a difference,” said Dijo Kappan, a consumer activist involved in transport and commuting issues. He also challenged MVD to publish a report on the action taken in the last three months.
According to Kappan, the enforcement wing should focus on promoting safety rather than on extracting fines. It has been found that the vehicles found violating the rules repeat the offences after paying the fine. Transport Commissioner S Sreejith informed the High Court on Friday that the enforcement activities would be enhanced. Transport Minister Antony Raju said the workforce in the enforcement wing was not sufficient. The department has 14 regional transport officers, 99 motor vehicle inspectors and 285 assistant MVIs.
The Contract Carriage Operators Association (CCOA), meanwhile, claimed that they had also proposed to the transport commissioner to have periodic check reports on buses under each RTO or Joint RTO.
The MVD issued guidelines to the education department on the basis of an accident during a college tour in April. As per the guidelines, the educational institutions can inform the RTO concerned about the trip. The MVD officials can check the fitness of the bus and the credentials of the bus driver.
An RTO enforcement officer said it was not practical for officers to inspect all buses before every trip. If the officers have difficulty going to the school, we can produce the buses at a location specified by the RTO, maybe at the regular fitness checking ground, said CCOA president Binu John.