Muhawa mishap fallout: School vans on strike, parents have a tough day in Amritsar

Accusing the district administration of harassing school van operators in the city after the Muhawa school van mishap last week, the local operators went on a strike on Monday.

Seven children were killed and over 20 were injured after a rashly driven school van fell into a drain from a bridge at the border village, 35 km from here on Tuesday afternoon.

The school van operators alleged the district authorities have been harassing them after the incident and they have come under unnecessary scrutiny. After the incident, district transport officer Lovejit Kalsi had penalised the operators of 200 school buses and impounded 108 vans. Also regular checking was carried out by other departments.

A lot of inconvenience was caused to parents, who were seen dropping off and picking up their children from various city school due to the strike. Some parents didn’t even send their kids to schools.

Shublata, a grandparent, said: “We did not send our kids to school as there was the transporters’ strike.”

Joint task force to enforce Safe School Vahan Scheme

Tarn Taran: In the wake of Muhawa school van mishap, Tarn Taran district transport officer (DTO) Angrej Singh Hundal said on Monday that a joint task force of all departments concerned will be constituted to ensure the implementation of Safe School Vahan Scheme.

After a meeting with senior officials of the education, police and women and child development departments, Hundal said the committee will be formed to implement all rules and regulations under the Punjab government scheme strictly. It will examine every school vehicle being used for ferrying students to see if it fulfils all the criteria, he said.

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Issuing directions to school managements, the DTO said condition of school vehicles are directly related with the safety of children, and any negligence will not be tolerated. Hundal asked the police officials to challan any school bus or van found violating the norms set by the Punjab and Haryana high court.

First Published: Sep 27, 2016 14:53 IST