Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 02 August 2022
State Transport Service Buses are an important mode of transportation for the general public residing in the remote villages of Great Nicobar such as Govind Nagar, Joginder Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Gandhi Nagar and Shastri Nagar.
STS Buses are used every day by the students, working population and the general public for their commute as they are the only mode of public transportation between the remote villages and Campbell Bay headquarter area.
The quality of the STS buses deployed in the routes of Campbell Bay had deteriorated. After pressure from political leaders, STS deployed two additional buses at Campbell Bay.
General Public of Great Nicobar is unhappy about the department sending two old and used buses to Campbell Bay, as these buses are also not in the best of condition.
In the event of breakdown of the fairly good conditioned buses the department deploys old buses which are completely in bad shape and unsafe for plying. The old and tattered buses are also deployed every day in the Campbell Bay – Shastri Nagar route at 2:30 Pm due to the unavailability of other buses during that time.
The condition of the old buses is such that the tyres touch the platform, the whole body of the bus is damaged and the roof leaks. From a safety aspect, these vehicles should not be allowed to ply as they are completely unsafe and may cause serious accidents.
A source in the STS Unit, Campbell Bay informed Nicobar Times that the two old buses are up for repair and the unit has received the consignment of about 50% of spares required for the body repair. He added that once the left-out spares are received the department will deploy the manpower from Port Blair to repair the body of the buses.
There is also a severe shortage of drivers at the STS Unit of Campbell Bay. The unit is presently functioning with only six drivers, whereas for smooth functioning nine drivers are required. The drivers are made to work overtime every day without any additional pay. Working overtime every day also severely impacts the health of the drivers.
The North-South Road of Great Nicobar is also in a very bad state. The condition of the road is one reason for the deteriorating quality of public transport in Great Nicobar.
Sources informed that it would take at least another three months before the public can expect decent bus services in Great Nicobar as the old buses need repairs.
However, it is very unlikely that STS will be able to provide decent bus service to the residents of Great Nicobar until the North-South Road is properly repaired.
The residents are demanding good quality public transportation for Great Nicobar.