Sleeper bus safety exposed: Investigation reveals fire hazards across cities

India Today

From smoking and cooking inside buses to blocked emergency exits and flammable interiors, an India Today on-ground investigation across cities uncovers alarming safety violations in sleeper buses.

Transcript

00:00Do you travel by sleeper buses? You need to watch this.

00:10A series of on-ground checks by Inter-Rodaya across Delhi, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Bhopal

00:14has uncovered serious security lapses.

00:17This investigation comes amid multiple deadly bus fire incidents

00:20that have raised urgent questions about safety and compliance.

00:30On the Delhi-Balya route, sleeper buses were found crammed with luggage,

00:36inside the bus and on the roof.

00:38Emergency exits were blocked by seats.

00:40Some exits were six feet high with no ladders.

00:43No hammers to break windows.

00:45Exposed wiring increased fire risk.

00:51Fire extinguishers were placed near the driver,

00:53not where the passengers could access them.

01:00In Chandigarh and Mohali, emergency exits existed on paper but not in practice.

01:15Seats blocked exit doors, windows replaced emergency exits.

01:18No fire detection systems, no fire-resistant bedding or curtains.

01:35On the Bhopal-Nagpur route, narrow corridors that allowed only one person to exit at a time

01:39made evacuation nearly impossible.

01:42Highly flammable materials were used in sleeper modifications.

01:44Only one fire extinguisher was found.

02:12The rear emergency gate was rusted and jammed shut.

02:15If you look at this emergency gate, you will see it in the cleanest way.

02:19It was a war.

02:20It was not open.

02:20It was a pack.

02:22Look at this.

02:23Now, the rear view is the whole emergency gate.

02:25It was not always safe, not always used to be able to use it,

02:28not to be able to use it, not to be able to check it out.

02:29You will never even open this gate.

02:32In Lucknow, the glass of a bus was found broken.

02:35In another bus, a seat had been placed in the space meant for the emergency exit.

02:39No hammer to break the glass, nor any fire equipment inside.

02:42In another bus, a sleeper seat with a pillow was found in place of the emergency exit

02:46and no ladder in place.

02:47But how will they get up?

02:49Think you will be here and you will run.

02:51The door will run down from the door.

02:53If someone is a little bit, they will run down from the door.

02:55If someone is a little bit, they will run down.

02:56A seat is a temporary seat.

02:59Yes, that's it.

03:00The centre has issued clear safety norms for sleeper buses.

03:04But our reality checks show rules are being flouted across states.

03:08Until enforcement improves, every sleeper bus journey remains a risk.

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