Don’t risk people's lives, replace aging bus fleet soon: Palaniswami tells Tamil Nadu government

CHENNAI: Leader of Opposition and former chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday demanded the Tamil Nadu government to purchase new buses to replace the aging fleet to guarantee safe and fearless travel for the commuters. He charged that the DMK government announced allocation of fund during demand for grants for the transport department, but there was no sign of new buses until now.

The state transport employees were forced to operate the aging fleet of the buses, which were in bad condition, risking the lives of the public. There were reports of the footboards of the buses falling apart and tyres getting detached suddenly from the moving buses, Palaniswami said in a statement and criticised that the Dravidian Model government is “playing with the lives of people.”

The recent rains in the state have also exposed the poor condition of the buses. The commuters were using umbrellas inside the buses to avoid getting drenched from the leakages from the bus roof and incidents of passengers pushing the breakdown buses in hilly regions were not uncommon, he said.

He continued in the same vein and demanded the DMK government to buy new buses without giving an excuse of financial constraints and it should allocate adequate fund from Rs 3.5 lakh crore loans, which it obtained in the 36 months of its regime, to replace the old fleet of government buses.