CHENNAI: Ten-year-old Yashwanth was travelling in a Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus when a broken windowpane protruded into his palm leading to excessive blood flow. With no first aid box available in the bus, the family made attempts to stop bleeding with a handkerchief till the vehicle stopped at a hospital, his mother recalls. Both, MTC and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), buses have been flouting norms blatantly, one of them being absence of first-aid boxes. In fact, informed sources from MTC said authorities of Regional Transport Office (RTO) sanctioned registration to six new vehicles at Chromepet, sent to Coimbatore, and they do not have first aid kits.
“Section 172 (5) of the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 mandates a first aid box and the conductor of the bus must ensure it. But, the small compartment behind driver’s seat meant for it is always empty,” said K. Anbazhagan, joint secretary, Nethaji Transport Union.
Sources from MTC told Deccan Chronicle that, from 2012, the department has been showing an account of Rs 55 lakh every year at the cost of Rs 250 for each bus. In these five years, a total of Rs 2.75 crore has been taken by authorities for first aid boxes for 22,000 buses. - The department has claimed the amount but did not give first aid kits to bus drivers. Though the issue of first aid kits has always been a cause of concern, another problem that came to the fore is that most of the first aid certificates issued by St John First Aid Training Institute at Egmore.
An official at the institute said conductors and drivers attend a nine-day training elaborating on how to perform first aid to get a provisional certificate for six months. After the tenure, they have to go for a renewal to get a permanent certificate for two years. But, most of the drivers have only taken the certificate while getting the license and never renewed it, which means that they are not eligible to perform first aid in case of emergency. When contacted, an official of MTC said they would suggest RTO to conduct raids and ensure first aid kits in all the buses.
