As many as 125 school transport vehicles were issued challans and Rs 1.25 lakh fine collected during a joint drive by the District Administration, the Transport Department and the Traffic Police for violating the Supreme Court’s guidelines for school vehicles.
Seven Mobile Courts were set up in various points in the city and the checking which began at 6.30AM continued till 8.3AM. The drive was as per the instructions and guidelines by the Gwalior bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Out of the 125 school vehicles, 44 were found plying without any authentic permit while 81 were found to be not adhering to the safety measures set by the SC, like presence of fire extinguishers, CCTV cameras or proper documentation of the drivers and other staff. In some buses there were no medical or first aid boxes while a few had medical boxes but the medicines were found to be beyond the expiry date.
Most of the drivers could not produce the original documents while some buses were carrying children beyond the prescribed capacity. A few drivers were found to be driving without valid heavy vehicle licenses.
An official of the transport department said that the sudden checking was as per the guidelines of the High Court and that such checking will be conducted periodically.
Speaking to the media persons, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Pavan Patel said that the mobile courts were set up in various points to save time during the checking, so that students can reach schools on time. He added that a total of Rs 1.25 lakhs was collected as fine and 125 vehicles were issued challans.
MP Singh, Gwalior RTO said that heavy fines were imposed on buses running without a proper permit. He added that the fitness certificates of those buses that were found to be not adhering to the SC guidelines have been cancelled.
RN Tripati, Traffic DSP said that some vehicles were found to be exceeding the speed limit during the checking by the speed radar. He added that such drivers were fined and issued strict warning not to repeat the offence.