Pune: State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Monday ordered immediate transfer of four officials reinstated at the Swargare bus depot after being suspended following rape incident earlier this year.“How can they be back in the same depot? The rape incident was shocking. We need to ensure that such incidents never happen again. Many measures are in the pipeline to ensure that. Amid this, bringing back the officers posted here when the incident occurred is not good,” he said. “The regional manager reinstated them in the same depot. I have instructed that those (regional manager) involved in this should be issued a showcause notice,” Sarnaik told senior officials of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) while inspecting big depots in the Pune division.A woman was raped inside a parked MSRTC Shivshahi bus in Swargate depot in February. A source said the four MSRTC officials suspended after the incident were senior and junior depot managers, and two assistant traffic superintendents. A departmental inquiry was conducted against them.During the inspection of depots, Sarnaik said the facilities being given to the passengers at Swargate and Wakdewadi depots were not enough. “Instructions have been given to improve the condition of washrooms and drivers’ rest rooms. Everything appears to be fine during inspections, but things go back to square one once we go back. That should not happen. Proper facilities need to be a feature ‘all the time’.”He said, “The Swargate depot would be redeveloped under the PPP model with Maha Metro. Instructions have been given to increase the number of CCTV cameras by 48.” At present, there are 23 CCTV cameras at the depot. Sarnaik said, “We should get possession of the Shivajinagar bus depot within three years. Once we get it, bus operations will shift from Wakdewadi to Shivajinagar. Until then, proper facilities are a must for people.
