Lok Satta To Protest At Jabbar Travels

The Lok Satta Party will lay siege to Jabbar Travels services in Hyderabad from 4pm on Saturday, January 4, to protest against its failure to pay adequate compensation to next of kin of 45 passengers who were burnt to death in one of its buses at Palem in Mahabubngar district two months ago.

Announcing this in a media statement, Dosapati Ramu, GHMC Lok Satta Party unit president, appealed to people not to book tickets to travel by their buses on January 4.

Ramu said Jabbar Travels was guilty of criminal practices like running contract carriages as stage carriages, not adhering to Volvo bus operational standards, and not adhering to the stipulation of having two drivers for night travel.

"Since Jabbar Travels claimed to be operating the service although the bus continued to be owned by Diwakar Travels technically, it has to shoulder the responsibility of paying compensation," he said.

Ramu demanded that the management pay a compensation of a minimum of Rs. 25 lakhs to each of the bereaved families.

Ramu accused Transport minister Botsa Satyanarayana of behaving irresponsibly towards the kin of the victims, and of taking advantage of the uncertainty over the state's bifurcation.

He wanted the government to lay day down rigorous standards for private bus services to ensure passenger safety, to develop RTC services on par with those in the private sector, and to implement a comprehensive plan to prevent road accidents.

State Lok Satta Party president Katari Srinivasa Rao will take part in the action program. (INN)