‘We can’t fix tariff slab for vans, parents can report harassment’

Bharti Arora, Gurgaon deputy commissioner of Police (Traffic)

Are you aware of the private school van mafia operating in the city?

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I have no such information. I know that there are some unregistered vans being used to ferry school children in the city. But so far, I have not received any complaint in this regard.

Since January this year, when the traffic police made it mandatory for school van operators to accommodate not more than nine children in one vehicle, they started charging double from the parents. What do you have to say about this?

We cannot do anything regarding this. The traffic department is simply a law enforcement agency. We cannot allow them to make mockery of the law but we cannot fix a tariff slab for vans.

Will there be any action against the private van operators who have started harassing parents after police tried to implement law?

If this is the situation, then people should immediately report about it to the nearest police station. Residents should not suffer. They would have to fight for their rights. None of the parents, however, have reported inconvenience.

These vans are registered as private vehicles but are used for commercial purposes. What action would the department take against them?

We impose fines on them. Sometimes we impound the erring vehicles during special drives launched on various occasions. We also maintain a record of such vehicles.