54-seater bus carrying 106 seized during special Holi drive

Pilibhit: A private bus carrying 106 passengers from Haridwar to Lakhimpur Kheri against its approved capacity of 54 passengers was intercepted and seized at Assam crossing on the outskirts of Pilibhit city Mon morning. The bus, allegedly operating under a temporary route permit, was impounded as part of a special safety drive during Holi conducted by road transport authorities.Assistant regional transport officer (ARTO), Virendra Singh, said the bus was in police custody and a penalty of Rs 21,000 had been imposed on the owner. "The passengers were provided with two private buses to ferry them to their destinations and the expenditure incurred on both the vehicles will be borne by the owner of the seized bus," he said.Singh said the bus (UP-22T9128) was registered in Amroha district and that the bus owner had procured a temporary route permit to travel between Haridwar and Lakhimpur Kheri. "This permit can only be used for group bookings by a single party, not for individual passenger services," he added.Singh said that 20–25 passengers were seated on the roof, posing a threat to their lives while passing through forested stretches between Pilibhit and Kheri. "Tree branches from both sides of the forest overlap the road's width in a considerable stretch which could have hit the passengers and cause serious injuries," he said, adding that passengers inside the bus were packed up to the front windscreen which obstructed the driver's visibility, creating the potential for a severe accident.Officials said that the campaign was launched on Saturday and over the weekend, 10 private buses faced punitive action. "Of them, four were seized – two of which had permits to operate in Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh. They were imposed a penalty of Rs 22,000 each along with UP's road tax levied at Rs 18,500," said the ARTO.The third bus was found flouting the road permit's assigned norms and was fined Rs 11,000. "The fourth bus was seized for overcrowding and violating road permit-related rules. A penalty of Rs 22,000 was imposed on this bus," Singh said, adding that challans were also issued against six other buses for overloading passengers, and were fined a cumulative amount of Rs 80,000.