Another DTC low-floor bus catches fire

The bus, bound to Uttam Nagar, caught fire last night but no one was injured, fire officials said.

The driver suddenly stopped the bus after noticing smoke billowing out in the rear end of the vehicle and safely evacuated its passengers through the front exit.

This is the seventh incident in the past three weeks that a bus running on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has caught fire. The Delhi government has instituted an inquiry into the incidents.

The government has also imposed a hefty fine of Rs four crore on Tata Motors for "not properly" maintaining the low-floor buses manufactured by it. The government has also decided to withhold a payment of Rs 150 crore to the Tatas and warned of legal action if corrective steps were not taken by the automobile giant.

As per the contract, Tata Motors is responsible for maintenance of the bus fleet supplied by it. Tata Motors has so far provided nearly 800 low-floor buses to the city government.
However, Tata Motors has cited bad road conditions as the reason for the mishaps.