Ludhiana: School buses continue to flout norms, 350 challaned, Rs 5.42 lakh fine slapped
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 6
The death of a school child and serious injuries to at least five other students after a school bus in which they were travelling in rammed into a roadside tree in Jagraon near here on Tuesday has again put spotlight on the unsafe plying of school buses in the district.
Moreover, the recent amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act providing heavy fines and punishment to parents for underage driving, especially by school students, has also made the school buses the most preferred mode of transportation for students but these continue to risk the lives of travellers.
However, enforcement agencies claim that they continue with their drive to check and crack the whip against school buses that violate the road safety norms.
Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Randeep Singh Heer, told The Tribune, here on Tuesday that over 1,500 school buses had been checked under the special drive during the past seven months and almost 350 of them had been challaned for various offences. Besides impounding seven school buses for serious offences, a fine of Rs 5.42 lakh had also been slapped on the violators.
“Seating more than capacity, expired fitness certificate, buses without name of school, carrying children more than registered seating capacity, plying without woman attendant, expired fire extinguisher, without first-aid kit, and driver without uniform were among major offences for which the challans were issued,” the RTO divulged while adding that the drive would continue in the future as well and the violators will be dealt with sternly to ensure safety and security of the children travelling in the school buses across the district.
He said the Transport Department had been continuing with its special checking and challaning drive to act against the school buses found violating guidelines of the Safe School Vahan policy and other road safety and traffic rules in the district.
It was despite the fact that over 1,200 private and government-aided schools have undertaken the safety of children travelling in the buses arranged for their transportation in the district recently.
Heads of these educational institutions had submitted self-declarations to the RTO here that over 2,600 buses attached to their schools were conforming to the safety guidelines for the transportation of the students as mandated in the guidelines of the Safe School Vahan scheme.
It was done after DC Sakshi Sawhney had earlier held a meeting with the heads of all 1,292 private and government-aided schools in the district and had asked them to ensure strict compliance of the scheme for the safety of the students travelling in the school buses.
Taking a cue of recent incidents involving the school buses lacking various mandatory requisites and posing danger to the safety of the children, the DC had warned of strict action against the school heads and the transporters concerned in case any shortcomings were found and violations were made by the school buses in the district.
Students’ safety priority: DC
“The safety of students travelling in school buses is our topmost priority and no compromise with their safety will be tolerated at any cost. Those found violating rules and not conforming to the laid down norms will be dealt with sternly,” said Sakshi Sawhney, DC.
