Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003
Wednesday, Nov 26, 2003 |
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Tamil Nadu-Chennai
By Akila Dinakar
Four zonal Safety First Awards will be given to each division of the MTC. The four divisions comprise 24 bus depots. The zonal awards will be based on various parameters including accident-free driving, maintenance of buses and depots. "The idea is to give them a pep by appreciating them for their efforts rather than picking on their faults," according to Mythili Sriram, convenor, CCTF. Ms.Sriram said the purpose of giving the awards was to create awareness among the 6,000 drivers and 6,500 conductors of the MTC on issues such as safe driving, vehicle maintenance and motivate them to perform better. One best driver and conductor will be selected from each depot based on the performance record, attendance and behaviour. A talent contest on `Safety First' will be organised for MTC employees, urging them to use their creativity to expound the theme. As a run up to the awards function, a three-member team from CTTF visited all the 24 depots to find out the greivances of the staff on November 22. Conductors and drivers expressed a need for revision of trip timings. Though the bus fare had increased from 20 paise to Rs. 2 and coincided with an increase in traffic, the timings had remained constant over the past 20 years. There was also a demand for increasing the number of buses during peak hours. The members of the crew wanted a drastic improvement in the condition of buses, as dysfunctional horns and headlights were common. Poor maintenance also resulted in excess diesel consumption and wastage and high levels of emission, contributing to atmospheric pollution. Passengers, who indulged in footboard travelling, eve teasing and pocket picking must be severly punished, the crew demanded. The indiscriminate parking of autos in bus stops, forcing buses to stop beyond the shelter, should be curbed. Another demand was to run checks on the registration and functioning of maxi and mini-vans, as was being done by the traffic police on autorickshaws. To ensure smooth flow of traffic, suggestions were made to remove encroachments, reduce the number of speed breakers and standardise their heights. In some specific complaints raised at the Adyar depot during the survey, the crew spoke of encroachments at Coronet Hotel near the Adyar signal and at Nathan Street at Mandaveli, competition of maxi and mini-vans with route numbers M5, 19K and 21 H, traffic jam caused at the Madhya Kailash signal and repeated incidents of eve-teasing by college students on certain routes. The Joint Commissioner of Police Traffic, G.U.G. Sastry said several human resources development interventions were available on training for road safety. More than 12,500 questionnaires pertaining to difficulties caused while driving and suggestions to avoid accidents were distributed and 5,000 replies had already been received. A training programme on road safety will soon be organised for around 600 drivers of Metrowater tankers by the Traffic Police along with the Institute of Road Transport at Taramani and Gummidipoondi.
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