Most of the school buses that are ferrying children of the 56 CBSE schools in the city are not fit to ferry schoolchildren as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court school buses norms. These school buses are doing brisk business at the cost of children’s safety due to the lackluster and insensitive attitude of the administration and the school managements.
Most of the buses are plying without CCTV cameras, fire extinguishers and First-aid boxes. In some buses the window panes are broken with protruding glass pieces and metal splinters, posing a serious threat to the safety of the children. Commuting children in such buses is a risky proposition, especially for those children who travel in those buses for close to 2 hours every day.
A meeting of the school managements and bus operators was called by the District Collector today to discuss about the safety measures to be followed while ferrying children. The meeting chaired by the DC was attended by the RTO, officials of the Transport and Police Departments besides representatives of the school managements and bus operators.
The RTO told the collector that none of the schools has given the fitness affidavit even after issuing notices, to which the DC asked him to cancel the permits of such buses.
The District Collector, in no uncertain words asked the school managements and bus operators to strictly adhere to the Supreme Court directives in letter and spirit or face punitive actions and cancellation of permits. He further cautioned the school managements that strict action will be taken against the schools too if unfit buses are found carrying children. The DC also asked the RTO to conduct frequent inspections and take any violations of the SC norms seriously.
However the bus operators are adamant they have not broken any rules. Their representative told the collector that speed governor’s cannot be installed according to the model as the diesel pipe lines are getting damaged because of this. The school management told the collector that it is practically not possible to form section-wise Transport Committees as most schools have around 50 sections. The DC gave them permission to form committees according to their convenience.