Reckless Driving: Tough action promised

KOCHI: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday urged the private bus operators to take immediate steps to minimise the ever-increasing number of road accidents in the state.Chandy said the government has already put in place various measures in this regard. Inaugurating the 50th anniversary of the Kerala State Private Bus Operators’ Federation (KSPBOF) here, the Chief Minister said accident rates in Kerala are increasing by the day.“With better roads, speed of vehicles is also increasing. Race between buses has been leading to accidents. Strict action is needed to prevent such mishaps. We need to take some ‘unpopular’ decisions. Already there’s a system in place to probe the reasons behind each accident. A joint team of police, Motor Vehicles Department and PWD has been working to study the cause of accidents,” he said.Chandy assured the federation that its issues would be discussed with the leaders concerned and action would be taken. He pointed out that the KSRTC alone cannot address the transporting needs of the people and hence betterment of the private sector is needed. Keeping in mind the demand for better roads   the PWD was given `1,200 crore in addition to its budget allocation last year. The KSRTC has certain responsibilities towards the public and its employees. Hence it cannot operate services on profit-making routes alone. The transporting needs of the public can be addressed only with the help of the private sector.“The issues of the private transport sector would be addressed. The development of roads has been done in a satisfactory manner. The fuel price increase is another factor that affects the sector. That’s something beyond our control. Whenever the Union Government increases the fuel price, the state government has kept away from increasing the additional tax, thereby doing the little that we can,” Chandy said.Union Minister K V Thomas, Excise Minister K Babu, Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany, MLAs Hibi Eden, Dominic Presentation, Benny Behnan, KSPBOF president M B Sathyan and general secretary Lawrence Babu also spoke.