Minister's car hit by Metrowater tanker

By S. Shivakumar

CHENNAI, MAY 26. A Metrowater tanker hit the car of Mr. M. Thambi Durai, Education Minister, on the Greenways Road here this morning, when he was on his way to office. The mishap was a spotlight on the threat faced by other motorists from these carriers.

While no one was injured, the car was damaged and the driver of the tanker, Mr. Kannappan, was remanded.

With the city reeling under a severe water crisis and the tankers being a major source of water supply, the vehicles are shuttling across at breakneck speeds throwing all safety norms to the winds.

Not a day passes without these tankers getting involved in accidents - sometimes leading to loss of life to road users. On May 14 last, a couple were run over on the CPT Road at Taramani by a water tanker. The vehicle came with such great speed that it turned turtle when the driver attempted to bring the vehicle to a halt.

This is not an isolated incident, as on April 27, a woman and her son were killed at the Arya Gowda Street - Brindavan Street Extension junction in West Mambalam. In an earlier incident, a woman was fatally knocked down on the Madley Road when she was chasing a water tanker.

Totally about 10,000 trips are done by the Metrowater and some private tanker operators in the city. The Metrowater tankers account for about 6000 trips each day which include about 500 ``paid trips'' to different parts of the city from the 15 filling stations.

The remaining 4000 trips are being undertaken by the private operators, who mainly cater to upmarket residents. In addition to this, several big hotels have their own lorry service to meet their water needs.

While the Metrowater warned that it would cancel the licence of operators whose vehicles were involved in accidents, only strict law enforcement by police could be a deterrent to drivers of the private water tankers, some city residents feel.

The poor condition of some of the tankers is causing concern to road users. It has been brought to the notice of the authorities that vehicles which are in bad shape have also been pressed into service to cater to the increasing demand of water.

A senior metrowater official said when such vehicles were brought to their notice, the permit orders were immediately cancelled. Even last week, the orders of four tanker were cancelled, he added.

However, the authorities have a problem in tackling the menace, as vehicle are sent for fitness certificate only once in a year. Moreover, some of the operators manage to get fitness certificate even for the vehicles unfit to be used - misusing their ``connections'' with the RTOs.

The need of the hour is to organise daily surprise checks to curb the menace, by the police and transport authorities.

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Section  : Southern States
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