Sumedha Sharma
Gurugram, April 11
The Mahendragarh bus accident, which claimed lives of over seven children and left several injured, has rattled parents across the state. Flooded with their concerns, the Faridabad and Gurugram district administrations directed all schools to review the safety of their buses as per the Surakshit School Vahan Policy and submit a compliance report within a week. The two districts have around 1,500 registered schools.
Taking cognisance of reports, which alleged that driver of the Mahendragarh schoolbus was drunk at the time of the mishap, the Gurugram administration has asked the traffic police and the RTA officials to put up special nakas during school trasit hours and use alcometers to keep an eye on drivers.
Security over comfort
Child safety during transit is the sole responsibility of the school. A majority of the schools charge exorbitant transportation fee on account of AC facilities and other comforts, but it is the security of students that needs to be assured. — Nishant Yadav, Gurugram DC
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Yadav said in case of negligence, schools would be held liable and would be penalised.
“We have been getting regular complaints about buses of even top-notch schools being driven rashly, on the wrong side and flouting safety norms. Schools need to review their security arrangements in transit and any negligence would be dealt with strictly,” said Yadav.
Faridabad DC Vikram Singh too exhorted all schools to put things in order or face action. “The drivers of schoolbuses need to verified and sensitised. We will hold schools accountable for any negligence in the matter and will soon conduct a safety audit,” said Singh.
According to the Traffic Departmen’s data, schoolbuses in Faridabad and Gurugram constitute 20 per cent of the monthly violations. Among these, driving on the wrong side and over-speeding were found to be the most common violations. Besides, concerns are being raised regarding the lack of nakas to check cases of drunken driving among drivers of schoolbuses as such nakas are usually put up late in the evening.
“We will be conducting a special awareness and sensitisation drive for schoolbus operators. We will also carry out challan drives to deter schoolbus drivers from committing traffic violations. Besides their background verification, schools need to verify the road behaviour and experience of drivers,” said DCP traffic Virender Vij.
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