John Wilbert & Vikramaditya
Port Blair, June 7: A video capturing the plight of passengers enduring great difficulties while traveling in State Transport Service (STS) buses in South Andaman has gone viral on social media today. The footage vividly illustrates the discomfort faced by commuters due to roof leakage, highlighting the failure of the transport services.
Heavy rainfall during the afternoon caused several buses to experience delays of a few hours due to waterlogged bus stands. The video, claimed to be shot by an Islander, was taken from an STS bus traveling from AC Bus Aberdeen Bazar to Chouldary and other non-AC buses from Aberdeen Bazar to Tirur.
In the video, passengers can be seen braving the rain with umbrellas and raincoats inside the Bus as water seeps through the leaky roof. This issue has become a recurrent problem for STS buses during the rainy season, according to commuters. Earlier Andaman Sheekha had reported about such an incident a few years back.
It is disheartening that the authorities have failed to carry out necessary maintenance work before the onset of monsoon, leaving commuters to travel while getting wet inside the buses.
Rainwater leakage through holes on the bus roofs and windows has become a common occurrence throughout the Islands. Consequently, many seats, particularly those near the windows, remain vacant as rainwater infiltrates the buses. Even when windows are closed, passengers are left drenched by the water seeping from above, revealing a dire need for immediate action.
When contacted by Andaman Sheekha Daily, an officer from the Transport Department acknowledged that he has also seen the video in social media today and attributed the issue to heavy rainfall, stating that they have already alerted the top authority about the need for repairs to address the roof leakage problem.
