Alappuzha: Drivers of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) are now up in arms against a new law proposed by the Centre that seeks to increase the punishment in hit-and-run cases.
Under the newly rolled-out Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, drivers causing serious road accidents through negligent driving and fleeing without informing authorities can now face up to 10 years of imprisonment or a fine of Rs. 7 lakh. This marks a significant increase from the previous punishment of two years under the IPC.
The KSRTC drivers argue that the new law will expose them to unjust punishment. They have demanded an immediate repeal of the provision. As a mark of protest, the bus drivers under the KSRTC Employees Association (CITU) carried out a three-day-long memorandum signing campaign in all depots across the state. This will be followed by the lighting of a protest fire by the families of all protesting drivers.
Commenting on the protest, M K Rajeesh, CITU State Executive Member, said the mass petition and protest fire marked the first phase of a series of agitations planned against this discriminatory law. “This new provision will add to the misery of the KSRTC drivers, who have not been receiving their salaries regularly for the past several years. Most of the KSRTC bus drivers are the sole earning members of their respective families, and sending them to jail for something that happens unintentionally during their line of duty for ten long years is sheer injustice," he said.
In the long run, it will also discourage the entry of youngsters into professional driving, he added.
The drivers' community in several North Indian states, including Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, has also been protesting against the new hit-and-run law.
"As a KSRTC bus driver, I have not been receiving my salary regularly and am forced to do some other part-time work to support my family. So, how am I supposed to pay the Rs 7 lakh stipulated as a fine in case of an accident involving the bus that I am driving? This is a threat to our livelihood," said a driver at the Cherthala depot of the KSRTC. He also expressed concerns about potential mob violence while transporting injured individuals to hospitals.
A cursory glance at the road accident statistics in Kerala suggests that KSRTC buses were involved in as many as 551 accidents in 2022, while it was 328 during the same period the previous year. An analysis by the Kerala Economic Review 2023 of the vehicle category-wise accidents between January and August 2023 suggests that the state transport company contributed to 1.35 percent of total incidents reported in Kerala.
“Experts attribute road accidents primarily to rash driving, bad road conditions, unfit vehicle conditions, and an unfavourable environment. Take each one of these factors and the KSRTC buses fit the bill. So, I think the protest by the drivers can be justified," pointed out a top KSRTC official.
