2 workers injured in battery multimeter explosion at MTC's e-bus depot at Vyasarpadi
The incident occurred when technicians were repairing the high-capacity battery of an electric bus parked in the yard.
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CHENNAI: Two workers sustained serious injuries in an electrical accident while performing maintenance work on an electric bus at the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) electric bus depot in Vyasarpadi in the wee hours of Monday.
The incident occurred when technicians were repairing the high-capacity battery of an electric bus parked in the yard. A multimeter connected to the battery reportedly exploded, resulting in a sudden mishap, sources said.
The injured workers have been identified as V Bharathguna (32), a native of Thondamuthur in Coimbatore, and B Shyam (24) from Maharashtra. Both are employed by a private firm engaged in electric bus maintenance under OHM Global Mobility Pvt Ltd, the gross cost contractor for the MTC, which operates public bus services in Chennai.
MTC Managing Director T Prabhushankar said the workers, employed by a private vendor, were measuring the battery voltage when the multimeter malfunctioned due to a short circuit, causing the accident. "The workers have been admitted to the hospital for treatment. The incident is not related to the bus or its operations," he clarified.
The Vyasarpadi depot, where the incident occurred, is equipped with infrastructure for electric bus charging and maintenance. A total of 32 charging units have been installed, allowing simultaneous charging of 32 buses. Each bus can travel up to 200 kilometres on a single charge.
The accident took place just days after Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the MTC's first electric bus depot and flagged off 120 electric buses on June 30. The deployment of electric buses is part of Phase I of the Chennai City Partnership Programme – Sustainable Urban Services Programme (C-SUSP), an urban mobility initiative supported by the World Bank.
Under this initiative, the MTC will introduce a total of 625 low-floor electric buses, including 225 air-conditioned ones, through a performance-based Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model. The contract has been awarded to OHM Global Mobility Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility.
