The vehicles breakdown often and this has resulted in a poor overall performance.
The new Ashok Leyland buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) acquired under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) have had a pathetic record. The vehicles breakdown often and this has resulted in a poor overall performance.
The information came in a regular meeting of the undertaking. The BEST administration while replying to queries from its committee members presented the data about breakdown and other problems that were developed by the new buses that were taken on board in late 2010 from Ashok Leyland.
The total number of problems faced by the non-AC JNNURM buses was 499 in June 2010; in the month of December for the same year, 531 buses of 728 had faults. Of the 200 AC buses 161 developed faults in June 2010 and in December, the number fell slightly to 103.
Opposition committee member Ravi Raja of the Congress alleged that Ashok Leyland supplied “old chassis” and sold them to the BEST claiming that they were new. “I have evidence to prove that the chassis’ were manufactured in May 2009 and sold to the BEST in late 2010. Ashok Leyland claimed that these old chassis’ were new. I demand that the company be blacklisted by the BEST.”
But the vehicles are not the only problem; the undertaking has a severe shortage of technical staff for the upkeep of the buses. According to the BEST, they don’t have enough technical staff- in January 4,651 technicians were employed by the undertaking and 1,173 spots are still left vacant.
General manager OP Gupta said that all steps needed to secure BEST’s interests will be taken as per the law. All the Ashok Leyland buses brought under JNNURM are undergoing rigorous check-ups and this will continue for the next two months in as many as 10 depots simultaneously. In a statement, the company said, “All our vehicles undergo rigorous testing and quality control procedures. In this particular order, all the vehicles provided to BEST meet the specifications as set out in the tender. However, if there are any deviations, Ashok Leyland would rectify these immediately, regardless of the costs involved.”
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