Implementing Safe Vahan Policy proving uphill task for institutes

Implementing the guidelines of the Safe Vahan Policy in letter and spirit seems to be an uphill task for managers of educational institutes and transport contractors in this part of Malwa.

Appointing female attendants in vehicles ferrying girl students, maintenance of first aid facilities, provision of functional GPS and CCTV cameras besides well-equipped firefighting systems, were found to be among the most commonplace violations of the policy.

Authorities at the Transport, Education, and Child Safety Departments have cautioned authorities at all government and private educational institutes to ensure that adequate proactive arrangements were made for the safety of students in view of the ensuing peak winter conditions when driving would be potentially riskier due to fog and consequent poor visibility.

While the authorities at district-level offices claimed to have launched a coordinated campaign to sensitise all stakeholders about the consequences of ignoring the guidelines, drivers and staff attached with the vehicles visiting the region from other districts, including Ludhiana, Barnala, Sangrur and Fatehgarh Sahib, remain well outside the reach of the organisers of these awareness campaigns.

It was observed that employing female attendants for vehicles carrying girls students was an uphill task as there were not enough takers for the job.

Social stigma, unavailability of suitable educated candidates and the nature of the job were cited as some of the major reasons behind employer’s difficulties in implementing the orders.

Malerkotla Regional Transport Officer-cum-SDM Gurmeet Bansal acknowledged that hiring female attendants or conductors had always been a hard task for the majority of educational institutes in this region with a mixed demographic of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Bansal said that as many as fifteen vehicles compromising safety of students were challaned by Child Safety Department personnel.

Bansal appreciated that authorities at the majority of educational institutes run by private committees and trusts had advised their staff to ensure proper compliance with the Safe Vahan Policy.