Mishap focuses on poor bus services in north Chennai

By Akila Dinakar

CHENNAI, AUG. 6. A passenger who tried to board a central-entry MTC bus in the peak hour fell and was run over by the rear wheel of the bus at Collector Nagar on the New Ambattur Industrial Estate Road this morning.

Women fainted at the sight and angry commuters and onlookers gathered at the scene of the accident. The incident turned public attention on the central entry design of the buses and the poorly served north Chennai areas.

An eyewitness who was travelling in the D 70 bus (TN01-N-3230) from the Ambattur Industrial Estate to Velachery said even as there were several empty seats in the bus, a group of people got into the running bus when Mr. M. Chandrabose (40), working as a helper in a pharmaceutical company, slipped and fell and the rear wheel ran over him. He died on the spot and the body was removed to the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital.

The buses were always crowded and the anxiety of the commuters to get a seat ended in the gruesome death, a commuter said.

Passengers chose to vent their ire, pointing out that the buses on the route did not halt at the stop, particularly if the driver saw large crowds waiting.

The situation at the Collector Nagar stop was especially dangerous as buses did not stop within the earmarked bus bay, segregated from the main road by stones. With the vehicles usually kicking up a lot of dust, visibility was hampered and the boulders presented the possibility of tripping.

The Tirumangalam police personnel who were at the site of the accident said the MTC should revive the posting of a traffic inspector at the spot to ensure that buses stopped within the bay. ``Even if buses stopped within the bay, the open storm water drain behind the bus stop made it unsafe for commuters waiting there'', a passenger said, demanding a protective barricade.

Local residents said the MTC could even shift the two bus stops to the Radial Housing Colony as the vehicles waiting at the two signals near the Madras Medical Mission Hospital created congestion near the Collector Nagar stops.

Drivers said this was the first case of an accident in a central- entry bus. Incidentally, the idea in introducing the central- entry system was that such accidents could be avoided.

MTC officials said the bus driver, Mr. J. Sekar was removed from duty. A traffic regulator has been posted on the spot as drivers complained that autorickshaws were usually parked at the stop.

The MTC has appealed to passengers to avoid footboard travel, pointing out that ``some passengers were travelling on footboards, even though there was enough space in the bus''. Besides encouraging pickpocket and eve-teasers, it was responsible for several fatal accidents also.

This year alone, out of 51 fatal accidents, 17 occurred due to footboard travelling.

MTC will be observing a Safety Week from August 20 to 26 and it has made a special request to housewives and senior citizens to travel in buses during non-peak hours, with a view to eliminating pocket-picking, eve-teasing and deaths due to footboard travel.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Thief's pocket picked
Next     : What brews on a bus