Shillong, Oct 20: One person was critically injured while five vehicles were damaged after they were dashed by a Shillong Public Transport Service (SPTS) bus at Mawblei on Friday.
Police said that preliminary investigation suggested that despite some defects, the driver, Khrawboklang Pyngrope still took the bus (ML01 6855) to the road.

“It appears that the brake of the bus was not functioning, leading to the major accident,” a police official said.

The injured was rushed to hospital.

Police have arrested the driver of the bus for negligence.

The government has handed over these SPTS buses and maxicabs to private operators for commercial operation in Shillong city and other places.

However due to poor maintenance, a number of these buses and maxicabs are no longer fit to fly on the roads.

However the state government is yet take action against the private operators who failed to maintain these vehicles.

These buses were given to Meghalaya and other states under the erstwhile Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to relieve commuters in cities where public transport was lacking.

JNNURM was a massive city-modernisation scheme launched by the Central government under the Union ministry of Urban Development during the Congress-led UPA government.