Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 23
All buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) will install a panic button from April 1 following directions issued by the Government of India. The Ministry of Road Transport has directed all states and UTs to implement the directions of the Supreme Court to ensure the safety of passengers.
The step has been prompted by crimes against women, especially the horrific gang rape of a student, Nirbhaya, on a moving bus in Delhi in December 2012. The ministry has directed that all passenger transport vehicles, including buses, should be equipped with a GPS device and a panic button.
The ministry has fixed April 1 as the deadline for the implementation of the directions. Amit Talwar, Director, CTU, said they would follow the directions of the government.
He said while the GPS device had already been installed in over 75 per cent of the buses, the remaining would be covered in the next two months.
Passengers’ safety on mind
The CTU has a fleet of over 600 buses, running on local and inter-state routes. Amit Talwar, Director, CTU, said the panic button would also be installed before the deadline for passengers’ safety. The panic button would be connected with the control room of the CTU and the police. When any passenger presses the panic button, both the Transport Department and the Police Control Room would be alerted for taking quick action. The bus registration number and its location would automatically be conveyed to the Police Control Room. The nearest PCR would be alerted to reach the spot immediately.
The State Transport Authority has also made the panic button mandatory for web-based taxis in the policy announced recently.
Rajiv Tewari, Additional Secretary, STA, said they would not allow any taxi to run without the panic button.
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