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Intense vigilance in public transport

Special measures to ensure passenger safety:

COLOMBO: The National Transport Commission (NTC) together with the Police have called for enhanced vigilance by all bus crew after it launched a special awareness programme for both Private and Government transport sectors, in the face of the mounting threat posed to public transport from terrorist bombs.

Two terror bomb attacks on public transport were averted on Saturday due to the vigilance of civilians and bus crew. A time bomb was found inside a bus at Ganemulla, Kadawatha on Saturday by the bus conductor, which was safely defused by the bomb disposal unit of the Special Task Force (STF).

Another major disaster was averted on the same day when an alert civilian found a bomb weighing three Kgs, planted in a bus plying from Colombo to Moratuwa, which was later defused by the Army's Bomb Disposal Unit.

Many lives were lost due to terrorist attacks on public transport which has assumed greater frequency with the Tigers feeling the heat on the Northern front after suffering a series of debacles.

According to defence authorities, the terrorists have thus resorted to attacking soft targets such as public transport as a diversionary tactic.

Defence Authorities yesterday described this as the greatest challenge in their counter terrorism efforts , because of the difficulty in identifying the culprits who posed as innocent civilians.

Authorities have decided that awareness is the key to prevent such disasters and has taken steps to arm officials with knowledge on identification and preventive measures. The NTC has come up with guidelines for transport officials in an attempt to minimise the threat.

Officials involved in public transport have been advised not to leave buses idling on roadsides or inside terminals. Passengers should be allowed to board from the rear door and exit from the front. Placing parcels and luggage on side racks has been prohibited and the driver and conductor should make a thorough search and ensure that the bus is safe before and after a journey. In addition during any emergency bus crew have been advised to contact security officials or the emergency hotline immediately.

According to sources bus crew and owners who fail to carry out these guidelines are to be severely dealt with.

The Police yesterday launched a special awareness campaign in the Pettah area targeting both the Private and State transport officials, where in addition to the above measures they were given a comprehensive training on detecting explosives, police said.

According to Police, bus crew have been advised to keep the rear door closed on long journeys and also commuters should only be taken from regular bus halting places.

In addition the Police too have been advised to carry out a special search before departure and special squads would be deployed to carry out searches during the journey, Police said. Meanwhile, due to the alertness of another civilian a bomb placed near a transformer at Madawala junction in the Wattegama police division was safely defused yesterday.

 

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