Risking lives, taking law for a ride

Several school vans and other vehicles in the district, which are used to ferry children, do not have proper safety measures in place. If such vehicles are checked for relevant documents by the authorities concerned, most would be caught on the wrong foot.

Several school vans and other vehicles in the district, which are used to ferry children, do not have proper safety measures in place. If such vehicles are checked for relevant documents by the authorities concerned, most would be caught on the wrong foot.

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If the school bus rules and the apex court norms are taken into account, most buses would not be found fit to ferry schoolchildren.

"Only a few expensive and private schools have their own school vans, with complete documents. Otherwise most other schools, where children from the middle class study, the situation with regard to school buses is deplorable," said a source.

"Many vans ferry school children at Bargari village in the district, but most do not have required documents, including original registration certificates, driving licences, insurance and other permits. Drivers pool money to pay monthly charges to police and department concerned," claimed a source.

Most of the school vans are not originally proper vehicles, rather these are modified ones, he claimed.

"Most drivers or school van operators belong to lower strata of society and get into the business of ferrying school kids due to compulsion. They cannot afford new or original vans or autorickshaws and buy old vehicles. Moreover, schools charge heavy fee due to which most of the lower-middle class parents cannot afford to pay more for good vans or vehicles," said Rajinder Singh, a resident of Kotkapura.

"In some cases, chassis of old Canters are bought from scrap dealers and then they are used as vehicles to ferry kids. These vehicles even do not have original registration certificates because the law does not allow any modification in the original design of a vehicle," claimed a van driver.

Another driver added that, "One can even see vehicles with registration numbers of Gujarat, Delhi, UP and other states ferrying kids. The reason is that people in big cities and good schools buy new vehicles and sell old ones at cheap rates. Moreover, in big cities, strict traffic rules do not allow old vehicles to ply."

The traffic policemen and transport officials concerned are also aware of it, but they turn a blind eye, as they think it as money-making source, alleged another driver.In any school vehicle, students double to the capacity are packed, claimed a source.

The seven-seater vehicles can be seen ferrying 30 children. Some vehicles do not bear registration number on the back, while some do not have registration number at all.

"I had bought an old chassis of a 1998-model Canter from junk dealers for R70,000, but it eventually cost me around R2.4 lakh. As per the rules, such vehicles cannot have any original RC and other documents. There are many such school vehicles running on the road," said a van driver who is ferrying children for years.

"Most of the school vans do not have speed governors. New school vans and other vehicles can be seen plying at 100kmph, while the speed should not be more than 40 to 50 kmph when children are on board. Only a few school vehicles have conductors. Drivers and conductors in uniforms, fire extinguishers and first-aid boxes are a remote possibility," claimed a source.

The state government had ordered that all school buses should be fitted with speed governors and had fixed maximum speed of 40 kmph after the Nakodar accident of March 4 in which 13 children were killed in a school bus-truck collision.

DCSPEAK

Faridkot deputy commissioner Ravi Bhagat, when contacted, said, "I had issued instructions under Section 144 of CrPC earlier. Strict instructions were passed and the education department and school authorities were asked to ensure compliance. The police and district transport office were instructed to comply with orders."

"I will look into the situation and will ensure that the orders are followed. No overloading should be there in the vehicles ferrying school children," he added.