An inspection of tourist buses has exposed how commercial goods were being loaded in the boot illegally, giving rise to the risk of overloading
An inspection of tourist buses has exposed how commercial goods were being loaded in the boot illegally, giving rise to the risk of overloading. The Shiv Sena's Pranit-Maharashtra Shiv Vahtuk Sena, which unearthed the racket, has written to the Collector, Regional Transport Commissioner and other authorities complaining about the issue.
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There are claims that iron and steel are also transported in private luxury buses. Astonishingly, there are accusations that even motorcycles are loaded in the luggage compartment.
We must see a concerted drive to stamp out this loading. It is obvious that employees are making a side income allowing these goods to be loaded into the buses. Only the belongings of passengers should be allowed to be loaded on the bus. Going by the way the racket has been going on brazenly, one can be certain that this is an organised and longstanding racket, where many employees of the bus companies must be complicit in transporting these goods.
While it is a political party's arm that has blown the whistle on this, let the clean-up operations not been buried in petty politicking, which will derail action altogether. The Regional Transport Commissioner's office and allied authorities must question employees and get to the root of the problem. Is it possible that owners of these buses are allowing goods to be loaded on for a slice of the profits? It may not be so, but all angles need to be investigated. Transporting commercial goods on a passenger bus is not only against the rules, it may be dangerous, leading to overloading. It can also be a security risk, since there's no way tell what's in the consignment. Now that this has come to light, a continual drive and ongoing action must stamp this out with force and finality.
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