PUNE: Around 35 passengers on board a private bus to Mumbai from Mahabaleshwar had a narrow escape when it suddenly caught fire near the Ozarde village in Lonavla early in the morning on September 19.
“The driver realized there was a snag as a fire broke out in the engine compartment of the bus. He stopped the bus on the service lane and all the passengers were told to get down from the bus,” superintendent of police (HSP) Sanjay Jadhav told TOI.
Within minutes the entire vehicle was in flames. Police and the fire brigade were informed about the incident, but the bus had completely burnt by the time the flames were doused.
“The fire brigade and ambulances reached the spot. A fire brigade team doused off the flames within 20 minutes. No one was injured in the accident,” he said.
“Prima facie inspection revealed that the fire broke out after a short circuit in the engine section,” Jadhav said. The officer said the short circuit posed questions on the maintenance aspect of the buses.
“It is important to maintain the long distance buses frequently as they cover many kilometres each day. Many private buses have been off roads for months together because of the lockdowns and only recently has the transportation started. The cost of bringing a bus back on the road in perfect shape is between Rs1 lakh and Rs1.5 lakh. With many transporters facing severe losses, many of them have ignored the maintenance aspect, which is dangerous,” a Pune-based private bus operator said.
