In a tragic accident, an overloaded auto-rickshaw overturned, injuring 15 school students here on Wednesday. The conditions of four of the students were reported to be critical.
Reports said the students of the Aurobindo Integral School were returning home by the auto-rickshaw when the vehicle turned turtle near the Narendrapur panchayat office. Eyewitnesses said the driver was over-speeding when the accident took place. locals rushed the injured children to the Banapur hospital.
However, as the conditions of four students deteriorated, their parents and relatives shifted them to the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar. Meanwhile, the driver of the vehicle fled from the spot of the accident.
It may be recalled that in a heartrending incident a month ago, five school students of a school near Rourkela had been killed when a dumper hit an auto-rickshaw by which they were travelling. But it seems neither the concerned enforcement agencies, school authorities or parents have learnt any lesson from it.
The Supreme Court in a recent judgement had banned use of auto-rickshaws and other smaller vehicles from transporting school children due to safety reasons. But as the Transport Department turned a deaf ear to the apex court’s order, the school authorities continue to flout the guidelines, endangering lives of the innocent schoolchildren.