With 53 kills already under its belt in just over nine months of 2007, BEST is not too much better than Delhi’s infamous Blue Line buses.
MUMBAI: On Saturday night, when a BEST bus ran over six-year-old Shabarin Khan, killing her almost instantly, it was the 53rd such fatality involving Mumbai’s much-acclaimed public transport undertaking.
This is much worse than 2006’s figure of 35 fatalities. With 53 kills already under its belt in just over nine months of 2007, BEST is not too much better than Delhi’s infamous Blue Line buses, which had killed 96 people upto October 9.
Ironically, the Delhi high court had, only the other day, asked the government to consider winding up the Blue Line service and run it exclusively in the public sector. The bench had cited the publicly-run BEST as an example of efficiency.
Shabarin Khan, a resident of Shivaji Nagar, was killed at Sant Nirankari Nagar when the speeding BEST bus knocked her down and the rear wheels crushed her. Khan was standing on the roadside along with friends watching the Eid moon rise after breaking her Ramzan fast (roja). The driver, 40-year-old Shatrughan Shinde, who later claimed he was unaware he had knocked anyone down, sped away to the Shivaji Nagar depot.
Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s family, the police arrested Shinde and charged him with rash and negligent driving. He was produced before a holiday court on Sunday and let off on bail of Rs950.
BEST officials attribute the high “fatality” rate to “bad road conditions”’ and the “increase in the number of vehicles” on the road. Pointing out that BEST had won a World Safety Award for being the safest mode of transportation in 2004, AS Tamboli, a senior spokesman for BEST, said: “It is not that our drivers have suddenly become rash and do not care about traffic rules.”
“The road conditions worsen every day. Our drivers barely manage to drive at 40 kmph. They are well trained in traffic rules and will never indulge in lane-cutting or over-taking,” claimed Tamboli.
When asked whether action would be taken against Shinde, Tamboli said: “As per the procedure, a departmental inquiry will be conducted. If found guilty, he could be terminated from the job as well.”
The Mumbai traffic police does not spare any driver, including BEST employees, if found guilty of rash and negligent driving, says deputy commissioner of police (traffic), Harish Baijal.
Speeding buses can sometimes be a cause of accidents, according to observers, because BEST drivers have to maintain time-schedules. Tamboli confirmed this: “As per their time-table, they are expected to report to the depot concerned on time. Their performance is evaluated on the basis of the timings they observe in reaching the depots.”
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