After 3 deaths, BBMP makes vehicle fitness certificates mandatory

A day after the third death due to speeding BBMP garbage trucks, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said that all vehicles must have a fitness certificate.

A day after a Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) garbage truck ran over a 40-year-old bank employee, killing her, BBMP's Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta has told The New Indian Express that he will hold a meeting with the transport and traffic police department to discuss imposing safety rules.

BBMP's Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta will hold a meeting with the transport and traffic police department to discuss imposing safety rules.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic West Division, Bengaluru City, Kuldeep Kumar tweeted about special awareness drive for drivers carrying waste in different parts of city.

BBMP's garbage trucks have taken three lives within a month. First, it was a schoolgirl in Hebbal, then a senior citizen in Thanisandra and yesterday a woman in Nayandahalli junction. Several questions have been raised about the BBMP's failure in preventing these mishaps and ensuring smooth administration after multiple deaths were recorded of late due to various reasons ranging from potholes, bad roads, water-filled underpasses, road accidents and even waterlogging.

The BBMP has also been taken to task by the Karnataka High Court multiple times regarding unfinished and delayed projects such as filling potholes in the city and providing basic infrastructure to the citizenry. Most recently, the HC directed the BBMP to issue work orders within 36 hours to undertake further pothole-filling works in the city on Tuesday.

Gaurav Gupta spoke to media on the issue of vehicle condition, and said that all vehicles must procure a fitness certificate and that officers at the mustering centre will also check it, reports said.

Regarding the recent tragedy of the 40-year-old woman's death, Gupta told reporters that her family will be compensated for their loss and assured that he will discuss the issues with the government. Gupta reportedly added that he was told the stormwater drains around the city have all been cleared in the morning, but it does not look like so. "On emergency basis it has been ordered to clear and redo the drain construction,” he told media.