4 yrs on, accident victim gets STC bus, no relief
Insurance Cess Fund Launched In 2018 Lies Idle
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai:21.03.2019
“What will I do with a seized government bus?” asked T Gowthami, daughter of 45-yearold Govindammal who lost one of her legs in an accident involving a government bus four years ago.
Despite a direction from the motor vehicle accident tribunal, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Villupuram, has refused to pay the ₹20 lakh compensation to Govindammal.
The order specified that the bus be seized and returned only after the victim received the compensation. After five failed attempts, the victim’s family was finally allowed to seize the bus this week.
“I had to sell my jewellery to pay ₹10,000 for parking the bus at a private site till I receive the compensation amount,” said Gowthami. She was to get married in early 2015. But, when her mother Govindammal was hit by a government bus plying towards Ponneri, her plans were put on hold.
A tailor, Govindammal could not work after the accident and the family’s financial burden fell on Gowthami’s shoulders. She found employment at a local petrol bunk for a monthly salary of ₹11,000. After work, she had to shuttle between the court, police station, hospital and TNSTC office to get the accident compensation so her mother could get a prosthetic leg. “The one she uses now causes frequent infections,” she said, expecting a response from TNSTC Villupuram. General manager of the corporation Ganesan refused to comment.
This is not an isolated case. At least 6,700 were killed and 8,000 suffered injuries in accidents involving government buses over the last five years.
Advocates V S Suresh and Dhivakar said there was no point in seizing government buses as it is almost impossible to resell them or obtain permits to operate them. To expedite the accident claim settlement, the government in January 2018 began collecting an accident cess from all passengers. According to official data, more than ₹30 crore has been collected as cess every month. Consumer rights’ activist K Kathirmathiyon said, “RTI replies show that not a single accident victim in Coimbatore received compensation from the corpus fund created using cess. No one monitors this fund.”
“Victims have a long wait despite cess collection as transport corporations go on appeals and finally release compensations only in installments,” Suresh added.
Insurance Cess Fund Launched In 2018 Lies Idle
Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com
Chennai:21.03.2019
“What will I do with a seized government bus?” asked T Gowthami, daughter of 45-yearold Govindammal who lost one of her legs in an accident involving a government bus four years ago.
Despite a direction from the motor vehicle accident tribunal, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC), Villupuram, has refused to pay the ₹20 lakh compensation to Govindammal.
The order specified that the bus be seized and returned only after the victim received the compensation. After five failed attempts, the victim’s family was finally allowed to seize the bus this week.
“I had to sell my jewellery to pay ₹10,000 for parking the bus at a private site till I receive the compensation amount,” said Gowthami. She was to get married in early 2015. But, when her mother Govindammal was hit by a government bus plying towards Ponneri, her plans were put on hold.
A tailor, Govindammal could not work after the accident and the family’s financial burden fell on Gowthami’s shoulders. She found employment at a local petrol bunk for a monthly salary of ₹11,000. After work, she had to shuttle between the court, police station, hospital and TNSTC office to get the accident compensation so her mother could get a prosthetic leg. “The one she uses now causes frequent infections,” she said, expecting a response from TNSTC Villupuram. General manager of the corporation Ganesan refused to comment.
This is not an isolated case. At least 6,700 were killed and 8,000 suffered injuries in accidents involving government buses over the last five years.
Advocates V S Suresh and Dhivakar said there was no point in seizing government buses as it is almost impossible to resell them or obtain permits to operate them. To expedite the accident claim settlement, the government in January 2018 began collecting an accident cess from all passengers. According to official data, more than ₹30 crore has been collected as cess every month. Consumer rights’ activist K Kathirmathiyon said, “RTI replies show that not a single accident victim in Coimbatore received compensation from the corpus fund created using cess. No one monitors this fund.”
“Victims have a long wait despite cess collection as transport corporations go on appeals and finally release compensations only in installments,” Suresh added.
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