Ludhiana school bus mishap: Van’s fitness certificate expired 5 years ago
7-year-old killed, 5 school students injured in bus mishap; officials said vehicle was plying without an insurance since 2018
The Jagraon school van mishap that claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy has exposed the school as well as the claims of the police, Regional Transport Authority (RTA), education department and the district administration.
According to records from the transport office, the vehicle’s fitness certificate expired in 2019. Additionally, the vehicle’s insurance had not been renewed after 2018.
According to records with the regional transport office, the van, registered at the Sangrur transport office, has completed its age.
RTI (Right to Information) activist Ajay Sharma has filed complaints to the chief minister and deputy commissioner, seeking action against the driver, owner of the bus and the school management for “ignoring the safety of school students”.
District education officer (DEO elementary) Ravinder Kaur said that after the mishap, she and her team visited the school and the hospital where the injured students are admitted. She said her team went to the school and waited for 20 minutes, seeking a report of the bus from the staff. The school staff has failed to produce any record, she added.
The DEO said she has asked the block primary education officer (BPEO) concerned to investigate the matter and submit a report within two days.
Deputy commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said a first-information report (FIR) has been registered in connection with the matter. She added that it is a matter of criminal investigation and is being taken “very seriously”.
DC Sawhney conducted a meeting on April 16 with the heads of schools across the district at the Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan and directed them to ensure strict compliance with the “Safe School Vahan policy”.
The norms under the policy mandate that school buses have closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, fire extinguishers, attendants and staff with uniforms, pollution clearance, contact numbers of fire stations, police etc, speed governors, women attendants for girl students and first-aid kits, among other norms. The policy also puts curbs on the number of students allowed in a bus, depending on the vehicle’s size.
On February 12, a speeding school van mowed a four-and-a-half year old boy to death in Lopon village of Samrala. In the mishap, the mother and maternal uncle of the victim also suffered injuries.
On January 30, a major tragedy was averted after a speeding truck hit a stationary school van and pushed it for at least 20 metres before it overturned on the road at the Southern Bypass near Ajnod village in Doraha.