Within a span of 10 days, a second city bus caught fire on Tuesday afternoon and over 20 passengers had a narrow escape. The incident occurred near Nanda Talkies Road near South End Circle. After noticing the fire, the crew alerted the passengers. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. The bus belongs to depot 44 (Anjanapura) and was heading towards Kanakpura.
A video of the front portion of the bus getting gutted and thick smoke emanating from under the metro viaduct,went viral on social media. It is said that the bus, bearing registration number KA-57- F1586, was inducted in 2014.
On January 21, a city bus caught fire near Makkala Koota Park near Chamrajpet. Around 25 passengers escaped unhurt.
Worried passengers have now demanded the BMTC to take all measures to ensure that only buses which are in good condition are operated. Sahana, a regular BMTC commuter, said, “It is very scary to know that twoincidents of buses catching fire happened within a span of ten days. Lakhs of people rely on city bus services and the BMTC should take all safety measures. Adequate checking must be done before operating the bus.”
Both are MIDI buses
A BMTC official said that both the buses that caught fire are MIDI buses and supplied by a single manufacturer. The BMTC has now decided to approach the manufacturer to inspect all the MIDI buses procured from the company.
“Repeated incidents of buses catching fire has made us worried. Such incidents willdent the image of the BMTC. Considering the safety of the passengers, I have directed the chief mechanical engineer to take up the matter with Ashok Leyland. Theyhad supplied MIDI buses for the corporation. We will do a thorough investigation toidentify the reason for the fire,” said MD of the BMTC Anbukumar.The BMTC had procured 186 MIDIbuses from Ashok Leyland.
MIDI buses were procured to provide services to interior parts of the city where roads are narrow. The bus has a seating capacity of around 30.
