Day after Hinjewadi bus fire, RTO launches inspection drive to ensure safety compliance

Pune: The regional transport office in Pimpri Chinchwad on Thursday kicked off a drive to inspect the safety compliance in vehicles, especially the company-operated and private buses. This comes a day after a fire in a private company's minibus in Hinjewadi claimed four lives and left 10 people injured.The exercise began in Hinjewadi and would soon cover buses run by industrial units, schools, and public transport vehicles, an RTO official said, adding teams would check for safety measures such as functional emergency exits and fire extinguishers. Sandesh Chavan, regional transport officer, said, "We have planned a meeting with bus owners, operators and companies in the next two days to discuss the drive. The programme will also include an awareness campaign to educate commuters about steps to be taken to get out of vehicles in emergencies."RTO officials in Pune have also planned a similar inspection drive. "We will begin this exercise soon and our squads will check if buses have fire extinguishers, if the emergency doors work, and if they are blocked by extra seats, among other things. The transporters need to get all things in order," a senior official from Pune RTO said.Another official said many buses do not have fire extinguishers while the emergency doors are blocked. "This is a concern that needs to be addressed. The blocking of emergency doors is very serious. Even if they are not blocked, transporters seldom open them, resulting in them getting jammed up," the official pointed out.Pune regional transport officer Archana Gaikwad told TOI that in the first week of April, an interactive session on fire safety will be held with private bus operators. "We had planned this earlier but for some reasons it could not be held. This session will focus only on private bus operators, their drivers, and conductors. We will be involving the Pune fire brigade too, and they will teach them ways to tackle fire incidents, the dos and don'ts that need to be followed for their and passengers' safety. The drivers need to know the different causes of fire and how to act swiftly. The workshop will have lectures and practical sessions," she said.Citizens have raised concern over lack of safety awareness among operators and commuters. "Fire safety drills are conducted frequently within office buildings, yet there is a noticeable absence of similar initiatives for company buses, despite these vehicles ferrying a large number of staff members throughout our region," an IT professional from Hinjewadi IT Park said. It is important for commuters to know what steps they should take to escape in an emergency such as fire, he said.A resident of Wakad, who witnessed the Hinjewadi fire incident, said, "I could not sleep the whole night yesterday thinking what would have happened if it was a school bus with children on board. I have written to the school of my child asking what safety measures they are taking in the buses that transport children."There are 28,000-30,000 private buses plying in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad.