In Hisar, buses not painted yellow, kids sitting on bonnet, drivers not in uniform...
Deepender Deswal
Hisar, April 12
The police and the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) launched a special drive to check violations by vehicles engaged in the transportation of schoolchildren in Hisar, Fatehabad, Jind and Bhiwani districts today.
According to information, the Hisar RTA and police teams carried out special drives by putting up nakas at various points in Hisar town. The police have impounded seven school buses and issued challans to 16 other school buses for violations of the Surakshit School Vahan norms.
A police official said they found that a number of vans were being used to transport children to schools. He said vans lacked safety measures and were found to be overcrowded. Some school vans were not yellow-coloured, which is mandatory for school vehicles. Some school buses had schoolchildren sitting on the bonnet and bus drivers were not in uniform.
In Jind, the RTA authorities conducted checking of 20 buses and issued challan to 10 buses while impounding five vehicles. The team went to a prominent private school on the basis of a complaint filed by residents today. The team counted 63 children sitting in a bus of this school which was more than the sitting capacity. During checking, it even found three condemned buses which were being plied on the road to transport schoolchildren. Motor Vehicle Assistant Sanjiv Kaushik said the buses which did not have the fitness certificate were impounded.
The RTA teams accompanied by the police also carried out inspection of the school buses in Fatehabad and Bhiwani districts. In Fatehabad, the police issued challans to five buses for defective GPS system, overcrowding and non-availability of the transport permit.