A large number of auto rickshaws carry school children more than their seating capacity in the towns of Subarnapur district.
In fact, it is a common sight in district headquarters town of Sonepur, besides in Binka, Birmaharajpur, Ullunda and Tarbha. The auto rickshaws continue to blatantly flout the Supreme Court (SC) direction on safe school children under the very nose of the authorities.
While the State Transport Department has ordered the school authority, police and the Road Transport Office (RTO) to look into the matter, they are lax on the issue. Similarly, parents want to economise on the transport cost of their kids and hence, do not seem to mind the overload in the vehicles.
A major violation of law is allowing more children than the seating capacity. Rules specify that if the age of the school children is below 12 years, their number cannot exceed one and a half times the permitted seating capacity of an auto rickshaw and each children above 12 years is treated as one person. The apex court also ordered not to use 13- seat vehicle or auto rickshaws to transport children to schools.
Sangeeta Dash, a school principal said, “We have already convened a meeting of parents in this regard in the presence of local police and RTO officials and informed them not to send their children in auto rickshaws. But some parents don’t listen to us.”
Senior journalist Gorekhnath Sahu said because of loose administration, road accidents are increasing day by day.
It’s the responsibility of both parents and school authorities to ensure children travel safe, he added.
Jadumani Pradhan, a parent, said both the police and school authorities are responsible for implementation of the law. Parents too should share the responsibility in ensuring safety of their school children.