Four buses at Char Dham Yatra bus parking in Rishikesh caught fire at about 10:30 PM on Sunday. Police and Regional Transport Office are still investigating the cause of incident. It is pertinent to mention here that Char Dham Yatra is set to start at May 7 for which buses have started to arrive in this parking. About a week before start of the Yatra season, this incident has raised questions on the preparation of transport department regarding the Yatra.

President of Rishikesh transport and tourism co-operative association Manoj Dhyani told the media, “This incident requires thorough investigation. We have filed a complaint with the help of bus owners. Three buses are fully damaged, the fourth bus is 25 per cent burnt. Though the cause has still not been identified, the RTO and police have inspected the buses.”

He further added, “The incident happened at about 10 PM, when drivers were having dinner. This parking space has also been encroached by several kiosks, against which the municipal authority has started a campaign. We are not blaming anyone, but this incident should be properly investigated.”

Rishikesh Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Anita Chamoli said, “We sent our technical team to survey the area and investigate about any technical cause behind the incident. However, we did not find any technical fault. In fact, the bus with maximum damage was registered in 2018. We also asked the police regarding the cause of incident but their investigation is still under process.”

According to the sources the authorities concerned and the association suspect that the fire was lit intentionally. Though the investigation is still under process, the fire taking place about a week before start of the Yatra season has put a question mark on the security of the bus station in general and of the buses in particular.