Taking strict note of three separate incidents that gutted Ashok leyland buses in the national Capital last month, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) has written to the private bus manufacturer to strictly adhere to the safety norms.
An internal investigation conducted by the Corporation has found issues with both the design and maintenance of the buses manufactured by Ashok leyland. The move comes in the wake of Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) issuing several safety norms for the Corporation to adhere to, in order to avoid such incidents of fire.
Officials said that the cause of buses catching fire was short circuit due to faulty wiring. As part of the safety measures to be observed in case of such untoward incident, DTC has asked the manufacturer to consider foolproof action plan for the buses in case of a short circuit. This includes automatic system to cut off the CNG supply to the buses from the dashboard.
The absence of a heat sheet or a conductor leads to the flow of heat from the silencer, directly to the wiring mesh of the buses. This might heat up the wiring system and that in turn would lead to accidents such as those of sparks and short circuits, said the official.
Apart from the modifications in design of the buses, DTC has asked the private bus manufacturer to ensure that the buses are maintained properly, as during summer the buses are highly prone to such incidents.
The three Ashok leyland buses that were gutted in fire included an air conditioned bus on route number 448 and other two non-AC buses on route numbers 966 and 505.
DTC has 3,775 low-floor buses in it's fleet and rest are standard-floor buses.