Ujjain : The ride to school for children in city seems to be an unsafe one as buses of several private schools are flouting the traffic norms which may result in tragedy as well. The overloaded private autos, school buses and vans are seen frequently plying on roads without fulfilling the norms. Children popping their heads out of the bus windows, crossing roads without a supervisor or attendant, bus drivers on duty without uniforms and speed on the roads are just a few of the irregularities.
Stringent guidelines have been put in place by the State government for the school buses, according to which it is essential for ‘school bus’ to be written on the front and back of the bus. The name of the school and telephone number should also be visible, while the doors must have reliable locks. If it is a hired bus, ‘on school duty’, should be clearly indicated. Buses must have a first-aid box, windows must be fitted with horizontal grills and a fire extinguisher must be available, while an attendant from the school must be present in the vehicle. Speed governors, which have been made mandatory in the school vehicles, were also not found in school buses.
But in reality, the scenario is completely different. Though the school managements take a huge amount on the pretext of bus fee yet they fail to ensure most of the safety arrangements in violation of the government and courts directives. The authorities have not been able to rein in erring vehicles, especially auto rickshaws and sharing autos that continue to load passengers, besides school vans that are in poor condition and are being operated by inexperienced drivers.
This, despite the fact that the administration held a series of meetings with the city schools over the issue in the past. School buses carrying students in the city continue to violate traffic norms. Several children and their parents now allege that the students are stuffed into the school buses and vans like cattle and nothing has been done by the school managements despite repeated complaints.
