NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had surprise visitors at his chamber in the Lok Sabha. Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, accompanied by a delegation of small truck and bus body builders from Rajasthan reached his office seeking relaxations in the Bus Body Code as they flagged new standards and excessive fees could drive many small manufacturers out of business.Officials said Gadkari, in response, said that the decision to tighten safety norms was taken following a spate of bus fire incidents which have claimed lives. “The minister said relaxing any norms that would pose risk to passengers can’t be allowed and there is a need for professionalism in building bus and truck bodies in the country. However, he said that govt will take steps to make the process of getting approval easy,” one of them said.People who were present in the chamber during Gandhis meeting with Gadkari said that the minister highlighted the need to shift from using “hammers” (hathoda) in building bus bodies to improve the system so that there are no compromises made in safety parameters. “Rahul said that the people engaged in bus body building using hammers have skill and talent. All this happened on a lighter note,” said one of them.During the discussion, the minister pointed out that authorities had issued notices to manufacturers on seven occasions, but the lack of corrective action forced govt to take strict measures.Following the meeting with Gadkari, Priyanka Gandhi told reporters, “The truck and bus body builders faced the problem that they have to incur significant expenses to obtain licenses, and the process is also extremely time-consuming. Gadkari has assured us that he will resolve their issues expeditiously.”
