Ggm police to keep its buses on standby to transport students trapped in waterlogged roads

Gurugram police have prepared a plan to keep a fleet police buses on standby to ferry school students stranded anywhere in the city due to waterlogging following heavy rain, police said

Gurugram police have prepared a plan to keep a fleet police buses on standby to ferry school students stranded anywhere in the city due to waterlogging following heavy rain, police said.

Buses stuck on waterlogged road in Gurugram on August 24. (Hindustan Times)

The directions were issued by police commissioner Sibash Kabiraj as part of a larger contingency plan under which every police station in Gurugram has been directed to prepare an “emergency response plan” for rain, waterlogging, fire incidents and other disasters. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Kabiraj late Wednesday, officials said.

According to police, the plan aims to ensure students’ safety and provide them transportation if they are stranded. Police buses, along with personnel, will be kept ready for deployment.

At least 14 private school buses were trapped together at waterlogged Subhash Chowk on Sohna road, following heavy rains on August 24, leaving students stranded for four to six hours. Photos and videos of these school buses stuck amid several feet of water went viral on social media which were transporting students to their home at that time.

A senior police officer said the police force has various categories of buses, including conventional high-floor, wide-body buses with high ground clearance and bigger tyres that can cross waterlogged roads without their engines shutting down.

“Buses generally used by schools have low ground clearance, slim body, light weight, small tyres and fuel efficient which make them vulnerable to waterlogging as exhaust manifold sucks in water shutting down the engine,” he said.

Police officials said conventional buses used by police forces have ground clearance ranging between 260mm and 280mm, compared with 180mm to 230mm for school buses.

“Sometimes body height of buses used by police are further increased by adjusting suspension. The exhaust pipe is thus located at much height which doesn’t allows water to get inside allowing engine to keep running,” said an official of the police lines handling transport and vehicle maintenance.

On August 25, a day after heavy rain caused waterlogging, Gurugram deputy commissioner Uttam Singh came up with a detailed plan under which traffic police would share real-time information on waterlogged routes with schools. The plan also included directions to Haryana Roadways to earmark spare buses for deployment, among other measures for students’ safety.