UDHAGAMANDALAM: It is a common sight in the Nilgiris and on the ghat section between Coonoor and Mettupalayam that TNSTC buses get stranded midway due to flat tyres. Most of the TNSTC buses in Nilgiris division are plying without spare tyres and tubes. In the event of a puncture, passengers have to wait till a spare tyre is brought from the workshop in the headquarters in Ooty.On Wednesday, a TNSTC bus plying from Kappachi to Ooty was stranded near Kodappamund as one of the front tyres went flat. It was slightly a downhill stretch and luckily the driver managed to stop the bus.“We came to know that the bus was not provided with a spare tyre. The spare tyre has to be brought from the workshop in Ooty. Hence, we were shifted to another bus,” said Senthil , a passenger.“This has been the case most of the times as buses in the division are not provided with a spare wheel set,” said an employee of the workshop. He added, “Such incidents were reported from Coonoor–Mettupalayam Road too. But the authorities are indifferent to the issue.”Sivasamy, a resident of Vazhaithottam near Masinagudi said, “Ooty-Moyar and Ooty-Masinagudi routes are narrow and steep ghat sections. Last week, we encountered the same situation near Ekkoni when the bus was plying uphill.” He added, “We had to wait for more than two hours to get the spare tyre fixed.”The division has 345 buses. Around 80% of them are not provided with spare tyres, according to inside sources.On the contrary, a senior official in the division told TOI, “Buses plying within 10-15km are not provided with spare tyres.” He said, “In fact, we experienced shortage of tyres two years back. Now, every sub-depot has spare tyres in excess. Henceforth, we will ensure that short-route buses were also provided with spare tyres.”

Stay updated with all the Coimbatore Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.