A long-distance bus, with over 100 passengers packed like sardines in it, was swept away into a swollen rivulet in the Dewas district of the State on September 5, 2010. Ignoring the protests of the passengers, the driver drove the bus into the culvert over the rivulet, when water was flowing over the culvert. 25 passengers lost their lives and if others could be saved, it was primarily because of the efforts of the local villagers.

That it was carrying 100 passengers against the stipulated 52 was not the only thing illegal about the bus. It was operating without a permit and neither was it insured. And this is not for the first time that such brazen irregularities have come to light in the State.

In MP, the permits for passenger buses are issued by the transport department, which is headed a senior police officer, generally of the rank of Additional Director-General. The responsibility of ensuring that only buses with proper permits and which are fit to run on the roads is also that of the transport department. It is supposed to conduct periodic and surprise checks to ensure this. But most of the time, the authorities keep their eyes and ears firmly shut. And that is not without reason. Most of the buses are owned by influential politicians. They include MPs, MLAs, and Ministers or their close relatives.

Madhya Pradesh, perhaps, is the only State in the country where there is no State Road Transport Corporation. The SRTC has been disbanded in MP long back. This means that road transport in the state is entirely in private hands and the passengers are at the mercy of private bus operators for long-distance as well as intra-city travel. Since no routes in the State are reserved for SRTC, operating buses has become a very lucrative business, perhaps second only to liquor business.

Police officers are ready to pay hefty sums, running into several lakh rupees, for being sent on deputation to the Transport department. Postings at the Transport department barriers at the state's borders cost even more. And this amount has to be recovered within six months—which is the maximum period of posting at a barrier. And so corruption has almost become institutionalised.

It is the combination of the twin factors of bus owners being influential politicians and the transport department being neck deep in corruption that accidents like the recent one take place with unfailing regularity in the State.

The government is facing flak on another count too. The recent sudden outbreak of communal violence in Ratlam has become a major cause of concern for the Government and the ruling party. The violence in Ratlam came in the wake of several similar incidents in many smaller towns and even villages. The government is apprehensive of even more violence once the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court pronounces is judgment in the Ayodhya case on September 24.

Madhya Pradesh had witnessed horrific communal violence in the wake of the demolition of Babri mosque in 1992. In particular, Bhopal, Ujjain and Indore remained in the grips of frenzied communal riots for several days. At that time, the State was under BJP rule and the extensive riots gave the Congress-led Union Government a perfect excuse to dismiss the Sunderlal Patwa-led BJP government.

Naturally, this time, the BJP is unwilling to take any chances. It is keen that the state remains peaceful after the Ayodhya verdict. (IPA Service)