The government decision to relax the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) norm which stipulates two drivers in tanker lorries is drawing flak with the officials terming the move ‘ridiculous’.
The new decision will allow movement of tanker lorries with one driver. In the wake of the tanker lorry disaster at Chala, many officials with the department say that the decision will compromise the safety of people. “We have been enforcing safety measures in tanker lorries for sometime now, but with the LPG crisis deepening, we have been told not to act against tanker lorries,” officials say. An MVD official adds: “One person driving the tanker lorry for more than 24 hours is very tiresome. Sometimes a single driver takes the vehicle for the whole Kochi-Mangalore or Kochi-Chennai stretch. They are prone to fatigue, posing a risk to the lives of others. Now to solve the LPG crisis, the government has ordered relaxation of enforcement activities. This will cause more Chala-like disasters.”
Ernakulam is highly disaster-prone considering the number of tanker lorries plying through the roads.
“On a single day, more than 300 tanker lorries arrive at different plants of the petroleum companies. The enforcement activities should be made strict here,” the official said and added that 90 percent of the lorries they seized belonged to a particular petroleum company.
Motor Vehicles Inspector G Ananthakrishnanan said the petroleum companies should specify the service of two drivers in a tanker lorry while floating tenders.
“Such incidents can be averted if the companies become more careful. But, many neglect safety measures for monetary gain,” he said.
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