School buses won’t ply today: Panchkula operators

Panchkula, April 14

Miffed at the issuance of fresh guidelines by the district administration, the Panchkula School Bus Association has announced that they would not ply school buses on Monday.

Will complete paperwork

The bus operators’ association has decided to complete the paperwork on Monday, and not to provide school bus services to the users.

The district administration has asked all school bus operators to follow norms or face a strict action. Acting in the wake of the accident at Mahendragarh in which six schoolchildren died and around 20 were injured after their bus crashed into a tree, the district administration recently issued fresh guidelines for the school bus operators.

“The incident at Mahendragarh was unfortunate. However, the administration cannot just expect us to comply with all regulations overnight. After the Covid pandemic, the situation is back to normal and we are still recovering from losses. We are ready to follow each guideline, but we need time to comply the orders. The bus operators association has decided to complete the paper work on Monday, and not to provide school bus services to the users. “There’s no way that the administration would impound our vehicles,” said a representative of the association. Sources claimed that after the Mahendragarh incident, the state government was considering an audit of all school buses. Following the incident, the departments concerned, including the traffic police, conducted special drives across the state to verify whether school buses on the roads were adhering to all regulations and possessed necessary documents such as roadworthiness, pollution checks and valid permits, officials confirmed.

It was also conveyed that unfit buses be promptly replaced with new ones and trained drivers be hired by schools to ensure safe transportation. On failing to do so, the school will face an exemplary action.