SHIMLA: Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC) employees have alleged that there’s a shortage of technical staff and spare parts in the workshops. Two successive accidents of HRTC buses in the last few days have raised concerns in the corporation. The employees’ Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) has indicated towards the possibility that these shortages could be behind the mishaps.
On April 4, a HRTC bus going from Manali to Shimla met with an accident in which the driver died and 34 passengers were injured. Another bus caught fire in Chamba, on the same day.
The JCC also accused the corporation of not carrying out preventive reparations of vehicles on time as recommended by the manufacturers. The committee demanded that staff vacancies be filled and shortage of spare parts dealt with at the earliest to alleviate risk to drivers as well as passengers.
However, Sandeep Kumar, Managing Director, HRTC has dismissed the claims of JCC saying that the investigation to unearth possible reasons for the accidents is underway.