The drivers of the new KSRC-SWIFT buses that were involved in accidents during the opening services of the company, were terminated from service, said a release from the office of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC).
Two buses of the SWIFT, a new company formed to run the long distance buses of the Corporation, had met with accidents on April 11 and 12, hours after the buses were flagged off by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The disciplinary action was taken following an assessment by the internal committee which held that the lapses from the side of drivers involved in the accident were not minor. The first accident took place on April 11 at 11 p.m. at Kallambalam in Thiruvananthapuram district while the second one was at 10.25 a.m. on April 12 at Kottakkal in Malappuram district.
Soon after the accident, the employees’ outfits alleged that the inexperience of SWIFT drivers as the reason for the accident. Though the Corporation has provided some basic training to them before being posted as drivers, they are not experienced enough to drive vehicles in long distance routes, they alleged. The employees’ outfits and management have been at loggerheads ever since the new entity was floated as the appointments to the new entity were on contract basis
