Bengaluru: Second bus catches fire in 10 days, BMTC seeks safety audit by manufacturer
On Wednesday, around 20 passengers of a BMTC bus had a narrow escape near South End Circle in South Bengaluru when its crew alerted them after noticing that the bus was on fire.
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The bus belonged to depot 44 (Anjanapura) and was heading towards Kanakapura when it caught fire. (Express photo)After a second bus of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) caught fire within the span of 10 days, the corporation has written to the manufacturer to conduct a safety assessment of all the buses it has supplied. No one was hurt in either accident.
On Wednesday, around 20 passengers of a BMTC bus had a narrow escape near Nanda Talkies Road near South End Circle in South Bengaluru when its crew alerted them after noticing a fire on the bus. All the passengers could get down and escape unhurt. The bus belonged to depot 44 (Anjanapura) and was heading towards Kanakapura.
On January 21, a BMTC bus caught fire near Makkala Koota Park, Chamrajpet, where around 25 passengers escaped unhurt.
A senior BMTC official said that both were midibuses—which are larger than a minibus—supplied by Ashok Leyland, and that the corporation had formed a committee to look into the accidents and approached the manufacturer to inspect all the 186 buses procured from the company.
V Anbukumar, managing director of the BMTC, said, “Considering the safety of the passengers, we have decided to take up the matter with the company. I have directed the chief mechanical engineer to take up the matter with Ashok Leyland. They had supplied midibuses for the corporation.”
This bus was procured in 2014. The Jayanagar police have registered a case. They suspect the bus caught fire because of a short circuit in the batteries but are waiting for an expert report to ascertain the cause.
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