20 vans impounded in Panipat, some were carrying 20-25 kids

Mukesh Tandon

Panipat, April 15

The traffic police on Monday launched a campaign to check school buses, vans, cabs, three wheelers and other vehicles being used to transport schoolchildren. After impounding various vehicles, the police dropped all children to their schools in their own vehicles.

A police team, led by Ranbeer Mann, Incharge, Traffic, West Zone, laid a naka at the government petrol pump on the Assandh road around 6 am. The police team stopped buses of various schools – Bal Vikas School, Bal Vikas Progressive School, Arya Bal Bharti, St Mary’s Convent School, etc.

The police team also stopped vans, cabs and three-wheelers that were carrying schoolchildren beyond their capacity or violating other rules. A total of 20 vans were impounded, some of which were carrying 20-25 children against the capacity of eight-nine children. These vans were found violating several traffic norms. Mann said 22 school buses had been challaned. He said two buses were impounded. These included one of St Mary’s Sr Secondary School as its fitness certificate and insurance had expired and another of Arya Bal Bharti School as its driver was without proper uniform. The campaign would continue and no traffic rule violators would be spared, he added.

In Sonepat and Gohana too, the checking of school vehicles was carried out by a joint team of the RTA and the CM flying squad today. The teams carried out checking of 35 school vehicles, of which 12 vehicles were challaned. The team also impounded four vehicles. Manoj Kumar, DC, Sonepat, said all school vehicles would be checked personally and no one would be spared for violating traffic norms or Surakshit School Vahan Policy.