Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, said on Thursday that new safety provisions introduced for sleeper buses will ensure safer travel and fewer accidents.
These include a mandate that allows only automobile companies to manufacture the sleeper coaches. In a video, Gadkari said, “In this crash investigation, sleeper coach buses are coming [in the news] nowadays. In this, only automobile companies will manufacture sleeper coach buses.”
The minister said accreditation of bus facilities will only be done by the central government, adding that the government had now “taken it into our hands”.
“So that we will not make any compromise about it,” he said.
Other safety measures include mandatory fire detection systems, emergency exit installation, and driver drowsiness alerts, that would help prevent accidents and save lives.
“Existing buses are to be retrofitted with a fire detection system, emergency exits with hammers, and emergency lighting. If the driver is sleepy, then we have also provided an alarm that will go off immediately, drowsiness indicators are also there to alert him immediately,” Gadkari added.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Gadkari highlighted how agricultural waste can be converted into a “valuable national resource”, saying bio-bitumen is a “transformative step” towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
The minister was speaking at CSIR’s Technology Transfer Ceremony, titled ‘From Farm Residue to Road: Bio-Bitumen via Pyrolysis’.
“Today marks a historic milestone in India’s road infrastructure, as the nation becomes the first in the world to commercially produce bio-bitumen,” he stated.
The minister also thanked the Union Minister of State (MoS) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions of India, Jitendra Singh, for his support in achieving the breakthrough.
“By utilising agro-waste, bio-bitumen reduces pollution caused by crop burning and strengthens the circular economy. With 15 per cent blending, India can save nearly Rs 4,500 crore in foreign exchange and substantially reduce its dependence on imported crude oil,” the minister said, adding that the innovation will help empower farmers, generate rural livelihoods, and boost the rural economy.
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