Faced with rising cases of accidents involving DTC buses, the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) will be conducting health checkup camps for its drivers and conductors after many were allegedly found to be suffering from colour blindness and other diseases. In many of these cases, it was found that the DTC staff not only concealed their diseases but also continued working after producing fake medical fitness certificate.
“These health checkup camps will be organised at all DTC bus depots on different dates. Doctors will mainly check the vision of drivers and conductors. Besides, they would also be undergoing checkup for hypertension, diabetes, heart condition and blood disorders,” a senior DTC official said. The DTC officers have been directed to ensure that all the employees of their unit should avail of the facility and a proper record is maintained, he added.
“If any disease is detected in the bodies of drivers and conductors, medical treatment would be advised by the expert doctors,” officer also added. In an open letter to the then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in January this year, Information Commissioner M Sridhar Acharyulu had said, “He came across the information that hundreds of drivers have produced fake medical fitness certificates and continued to work on the basis of it. It also being alleged that at least 600 drivers have colour blindness and many others suffer from other problems.”
Also, during departmental inquiries in several accident cases, the drivers of the DTC buses were found to be at fault as they were suffering from various eye afflictions, including poor vision.