The fitness checks of the passenger vehicles are hardly done in Gajapati district as the authorities seem to be completely careless about the passengers’ safety.
According to sources mostly these vehicles in a sorry condition are plying in five of the total seven blocks in the district putting lives of the people at great risk.
Interestingly, some of the vehicles, including buses, run jam-packed and the passengers are carried in standing position. Most pertinently, the busses are in dilapidated condition, yet the Transport Department is not banning them as per rules.
“In Rayagada, Nuagada, R Udayagiri, Mohana and Gumma blocks of the districts, buses and other vehicles carry passengers on the roof. Many a time, accidents occur as the vehicles skid off roads losing balance,” said a villager.
As there is no adequate transport facility provided by the Government in the Maoist-afflicted Gajapati district, private bus owners are exploiting passengers by charging fare more than the price fixed by the Government. With no alternative, people are forced to travel in the private busses giving excess fare.
“Some of the private bus owners are not paying attention to the safety of the passengers. Most of the bus owners are using kerosene instead of diesel to run the vehicles,” said another local. It is also alleged that some bus owners are illegally purchasing kerosene from dealers.
Despite all this, the Regional Transport Office (RTO) has remained only a mute spectator, the locals alleged.