Some buses run by the state-owned South Bengal State Transport Corporation don’t have valid registration certificates in possession and also are carrying passengers illegally as their insurance coverage has lapsed.
The senior officials with the East Burdwan district administration have taken this seriously after a bus packed with passengers met a disastrous fate on last Monday at Kanaidanga crossing in Memari on the NH-19. The speeding bus fell into a ditch after hitting the railing of a bridge. Seven passengers had suffered injuries.
The police have registered specific cases under Sections 279, 337, 338 & 427 of the IPC (rash driving on a public way, rash driving causing injury). The bus bearing registration number WB – 39B/4590 was plying on Karunamoyee (Kolkata) – Asansol route.
The bus, according to the database provided by the government-run Vahan App for motor vehicles, was registered with the additional road transport office in Durgapur on 24 October, 2017 and its registration certificate was valid till 17 October, 2019. The government documents mentioned in red letters that its registration had expired. The bus was insured with state government insurance, which too was not validated and expired on 13 September, 2018. This surprised the district police and administration officials and they demanded an explanation from the state-owned transport major.
The Youth Congress, led by its district president Gaurav Samaddar staged a demonstration at Nababhat crossing against plying of government buses without valid papers. Subhas Mondal, the newly-appointed chairman of the SBSTC, however, denied charges of flouting government rules. He said, “We’ve 972 buses with valid registration and 700 buses on an average ply everyday. The bus in question had valid papers, which were yet to be uploaded on the portal.”