Haryana accident: Crackdown begins against unfit school buses; committee to probe incident

Haryana accident: Crackdown begins against unfit school buses; committee to probe incident

A special drive was conducted across Haryana on Friday to crack down on school buses plying without necessary documents and valid permits, a day after six children were killed and 20 sustained injuries in an accident in Mahendragarh district.

Haryana Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad issued stringent directives to the civil and police administration to check within the next 10 days, the fitness of each and every school bus in their districts even as a committee was set up to probe the factors leading to the accident.

According to officials, all concerned departments, including the traffic police, on Friday carried out special drives across Haryana to check whether school buses plying on the roads were following all norms and had necessary documents like roadworthiness, pollution under check, and valid permits.

In Gurugram, owners of 2,700 buses of about 500 private schools were summoned by the administration to check their documents and fitness verification while a comprehensive campaign will be conducted on April 13 and April 14 to check the buses, said an official.

On Friday, 45 buses were checked and challans were issued to 16 buses for flouting rules while 11 buses were impounded for not meeting fitness standards, he said.

In Chandigarh, the administration issued a directive to all school bus operators to uphold the safety and security standards to enhance the protection of students during their daily commute to and from educational institutions, according to an official statement.

It also said that the bus operators are mandated to ensure the functionality of CCTV cameras, GPS systems and 'panic buttons' installed in buses catering to student transportation.

Meanwhile, Prasad chaired an emergency meeting and was informed by Additional Chief Secretary, School Education, G Anupama that the Mahendragarh district municipal commissioner has assumed control over the management of the school whose bus was involved in the accident.

The meeting, conducted via video conference and convened to reinforce safety measures in schools, saw participation from divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, range additional DGPs, commissioners of police, and district SPs, an official statement said.

It is very important that unfit buses be promptly replaced with new ones and trained drivers be engaged by schools to ensure safe transportation. If any school fails to comply with the instructions, strict and exemplary action be taken against those responsible, the chief secretary directed.

As public servants, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that school children receive the highest standard of safe transportation facilities, the senior official said.

He told the officials that he wanted strict action against all those responsible for the accident asserting that those who play with the lives of innocent children must face severe consequences.

Strict action must be taken so that fear is instilled among those who engage in such callous actions, he added.

Prasad said that numerous policies and guidelines have already been issued by the relevant departments for safety purposes. However, the effective implementation of these measures lies with the field officers, he said.

He also cautioned officers that in the event of a recurrence of such an incident, decisive and unprecedented action will be taken at the senior level too.

Prasad emphasised that all officers must ensure the replacement of unfit school buses with new ones by the school management. Additionally, they should screen and ensure that trained drivers are employed, he said.

He instructed them to send a clear message to all the schools to ensure strict adherence to safety instructions and guidelines issued by the relevant authorities for the protection of children.

''I will personally monitor the situation closely and review it after 10 days. We demand perceptible improvement, and we will not settle for anything less,'' he added.

Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur said child helpline '1098' has been integrated with 'Dial 112', the state's centralised emergency helpline.

He also recommended a thorough review of the operational efficiency of district-level committees overseeing the state's 'Surakshit School Vahan Policy' -- designed to ensure the safe transportation of school children.

He further said that a rigorous scheme for the inspection of school buses will be formulated and enforced.

Police arrested three people, including the principal of the private school as well as the driver of the bus who was allegedly drunk and driving rashly.

According to an official statement, the committee has been set up by Mahendragarh deputy commissioner Monika Gupta for a thorough investigation to ascertain the causes and circumstances leading to the accident.

The committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of additional deputy commissioner, Mahendragarh to inquire into the matter and asked to submit its findings at the earliest so that further necessary action can be taken accordingly, said the order.

The accident occurred near Unhani village in Kanina in Mahendragarh when the bus was carrying around 40 children to the G L Public School.

Police had said the driver was caught at the accident site and his medical examination confirmed he was under the influence of alcohol. They also said that the bus did not have a fitness certificate and other documents.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)