CHENNAI: Luxury sleeper buses registered in neighbouring states are turning out to be death traps for passengers in Tamil Nadu. At least 30 commuters travelling by omni buses were killed in road accidents in the last five months, with the latest tragedy reported at Chithodu in Erode district that claimed eight lives on Sunday. In June, 23 persons were charred to death when a Pollachi-bound private bus from Chennai was gutted in fire, after it capsized at Avalur on the Chennai-Bangalore NH near Vellore.While the bus with sleeper facility involved in the tragedy was registered in the Puducherry, the luxury sleeper coach that went ablaze in Erode has been registered in Karnataka. Luxury sleeper buses are registered outside Tamil Nadu since the State Transport Authority does not allow the registration of such vehicles. According to sources, such buses plying across the State just pay quarterly taxes in Tamil Nadu for operations after getting registered in other parts of the country. For instance, a bus with a Puducherry registration, which would have a permit to ply only between Puducherry and Bangalore, would be operating from Chennai to Coimbatore by paying quarterly tax. It is calculated on the basis of the number seats, the sources added. In fact, the transport officials in TN attempted to rein in such buses a few months back, following the Vellore accident.An expert in logistics said that plying of private luxury buses between two designated places on the lines of Transport Corporation buses is a violation of rules. “The Government provides only tourist permits for omni buses. They can be used for transporting a group of people to selected destinations for tourism purposes and not as passenger carriers,” he said and sought a ban on such buses in TN.
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