Ludhiana: The Safe School Vahan Scheme (SSVS), to ensure the safe transportation of schoolchildren, is facing roadblocks in this area due to the influence of private vehicles.
In a recent accident in the city, the bus driver of BCM School in Shastri Nagar did not possess a permit from the school. The school authorities have taken up the matter with the regional transport authorities.
‘Safe School Vahan Scheme’ is a scheme which is directed and issued to all educational institutions by the Punjab and Haryana high court. Simultaneously, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) showed exalted statistics of fining more and more school vehicles. In August, 17 school vehicles without permit were fined.
While the road safety committee, under the guidance of the deputy commissioner, was instructed to deploy traffic officials on the main roads and sensitive chowks. They have also instructed schools about enforcement and are checking school buses, specifically during the peak hours, to ensure that only registered buses carry students.
The overall accident figures have reduced from 382 in 2017 to 312 in 2018.
Tarun Rattan, ADCP, traffic, said: “We keep on checking school buses by organizing special nakas near the schools regularly.”
The traffic department has organized 69 camps for school bus drivers up to July this year.
Talking to Kamal Singh, head constable, traffic education cell, said: “Although we have been educating school bus drivers and it purely depends on them to follow the rules or not. Moreover, there are a few school buses which do not even fulfil conditions of road safety norms or the norms of the safe school vahan scheme.”
The transport authorities claim that there are buses which are not registered and such local buses charge less fee from parents as compared to school buses.
Students of the nearby colonies prefer such buses due to its low cost, but these buses risks the lives of students.
Damanjeet Singh Mann, RTA, said: “The school principal is also held responsible if there is any violation of policy. The school principal should ensure vehicles are registered and following the Safe Vahan policy. There are random checking by the traffic police at various ‘nakas’ near the school location and around 20 to 50 buses are challaned in a month.”
RTI activist Ajay Sharma said: “I have filed a contempt petition against nine schools, including BVM Kitchlu Nagar, BCM Shastri Nagar, BCM Dugri, DAV BRS Nagar, Kundav Vidya Mandir School, Ryan International Public School, Chandigarh Road, Sacred Heart Convent School, Bhattian, GMT Public School, Jalandhar Bypass, Sacred Heart Higher Senior Convent School, Chandigarh Road, for not following the Safe Vahan policy in 2015. These schools were habitual offenders of violating the Safe School Vahan policy.”
Sharma said: “A large number of vans are in a bad condition and do not comply with safety guidelines under the SSVS. While the district administration and the traffic police challan school buses ferrying schoolchildren, the school authorities turn a blind eye in most of the conditions. Most of the school vans ferrying children are not following these rules. Many van operators convert old vehicles into school vans after squeezing in extra seats (often wooden planks) leading to overloading.”
Paramjeet Kaur, principal of BCM Senior Secondary School in Shatri Nagar, said: “We are already putting in a lot of efforts to make drivers and parents aware about the SVVS. One of the vendors had a bus with so many defects. It is great that such defaulting drivers are being caught. We are taking a lot of precautions, but many times drivers do not listen to us and parents too do not pay heed. The school has complained to the authorities several times.”
HR manager Kritika Seth and transport officer of BCM School, Shastri Nagar, said: “We have 63 drivers registered with us who are allowed inside the school. The rest without permits are ferrying students from outside the school. We have been sending reminders to parents, but they said we should be ready to give an affidavit for their ward’s safety. We have written to the DC, CP, ADCP Traffic, DEO, RTA, SHO, and ACP of the area to take strict action against violators. Such violators should not be encouraged. All the buses of our school follow the SVVS, but only 75% buses have woman attendants.”
Additional transport officer Shyam Lal Sharma said: “The buses which were impounded did not bear the school name and accessories like speed regulator, first aid kit, hydraulic gate, and grills. The buses were also not registered and had no insurance papers.”
Though there were more buses without permits, drivers locked the buses immediately after seeing the officials and fled from the spot.
The bus union, along with the RTA officials, will take up this drive for a few more days.
--------------------------------
The guidelines:
· As per the scheme, all school buses, vans and auto-rickshaws should be painted yellow with a green stripe all around.
· Vehicles ferrying schoolchildren should not be more than 15 years old from the date of registration.
· Vehicles should be fitted with approved speed governors with a maximum speed limit of 40km per hour.
· Vehicles should possess a contract carriage permit.
· Drivers of school vehicles need to have a valid licence to drive a transport vehicle for a period of at least four years.
· They should not carry children beyond the permitted capacity.
-----------------------------------------
Parents, a worried lot
Inderpal Singh Chawla, father of Prabhjot Singh who is in Class VIII at Bal Bharti Public School, said: “Safety should be the first priority, but no one cares. Coordination is required from people and the administration to reach the desired results. School off time should not be the same as it creates traffic jams leading to accidents and traffic cannot be diverted at this time. People should also park their vehicles in a proper manner to avoid accidents.”
Anik Garg, a parent of a student who studies in KVM, said: “I feel safety and security of students is compromised by schools. But this ignorance is mainly in old local schools of the city, whereas new international schools in Ludhiana are well equipped. Moreover, parents are carless. They prefer local mode of transportation rather than proper school buses. My daughter goes to school by her school bus. However, my neighbour’s daughters are going by a private vehicle. Charges are similar and timings are also same. If we pass through the lane adjoining KVM, small children are seen crossing the road. Therefore, parents should also look after the safety of their wards.
Sandeep Anand whose children are studying in BCM school, Sector 32A, said: “I am not dependent on private transporters. I drop and pick up my children from the school. Safety and eve-teasing are the main reasons that I drop my children on my own. My wife picks the kids in the afternoon. Why should I pay Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 to private transporters, while I am happy to pay Rs 2,500 as EMI for a new two-wheeler for my wife.”
Uma Gupta whose child Mayank Gupta is in Class VI at Delhi Public School, says: “Safety should be the priority in every school. I have seen so many buses of different schools which are not even in a proper condition. School authorities should take action against drivers of such buses. First-aid kits should be there in every bus and one teacher must be accompanied with kids in every bus to check the speed limit and safety of the children. A majority of accidents occur due to dearth of skilled and expert drivers and to avoid this, drivers should be trained and educated about the road safety and traffic rules.”
--------------------------------------------------
Recent checking:
· September 3: School buses were checked under the Safe School Vahan Scheme (SSVS), and two buses ferrying students of BCM School, Shastri Nagar, were impounded and fined by officials of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) as they were not registered.
· September 4: Five more school buses were impounded for violating safety norms. Three buses were ferrying students of Delhi Public School; one from BCM School, Shastri Nagar; and one from Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib Public Senior Secondary School, Ayali Kalan.
In a recent accident in the city, the bus driver of BCM School in Shastri Nagar did not possess a permit from the school. The school authorities have taken up the matter with the regional transport authorities.
‘Safe School Vahan Scheme’ is a scheme which is directed and issued to all educational institutions by the Punjab and Haryana high court. Simultaneously, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) showed exalted statistics of fining more and more school vehicles. In August, 17 school vehicles without permit were fined.
While the road safety committee, under the guidance of the deputy commissioner, was instructed to deploy traffic officials on the main roads and sensitive chowks. They have also instructed schools about enforcement and are checking school buses, specifically during the peak hours, to ensure that only registered buses carry students.
The overall accident figures have reduced from 382 in 2017 to 312 in 2018.
Tarun Rattan, ADCP, traffic, said: “We keep on checking school buses by organizing special nakas near the schools regularly.”
The traffic department has organized 69 camps for school bus drivers up to July this year.
Talking to Kamal Singh, head constable, traffic education cell, said: “Although we have been educating school bus drivers and it purely depends on them to follow the rules or not. Moreover, there are a few school buses which do not even fulfil conditions of road safety norms or the norms of the safe school vahan scheme.”
The transport authorities claim that there are buses which are not registered and such local buses charge less fee from parents as compared to school buses.
Students of the nearby colonies prefer such buses due to its low cost, but these buses risks the lives of students.
Damanjeet Singh Mann, RTA, said: “The school principal is also held responsible if there is any violation of policy. The school principal should ensure vehicles are registered and following the Safe Vahan policy. There are random checking by the traffic police at various ‘nakas’ near the school location and around 20 to 50 buses are challaned in a month.”
RTI activist Ajay Sharma said: “I have filed a contempt petition against nine schools, including BVM Kitchlu Nagar, BCM Shastri Nagar, BCM Dugri, DAV BRS Nagar, Kundav Vidya Mandir School, Ryan International Public School, Chandigarh Road, Sacred Heart Convent School, Bhattian, GMT Public School, Jalandhar Bypass, Sacred Heart Higher Senior Convent School, Chandigarh Road, for not following the Safe Vahan policy in 2015. These schools were habitual offenders of violating the Safe School Vahan policy.”
Sharma said: “A large number of vans are in a bad condition and do not comply with safety guidelines under the SSVS. While the district administration and the traffic police challan school buses ferrying schoolchildren, the school authorities turn a blind eye in most of the conditions. Most of the school vans ferrying children are not following these rules. Many van operators convert old vehicles into school vans after squeezing in extra seats (often wooden planks) leading to overloading.”
Paramjeet Kaur, principal of BCM Senior Secondary School in Shatri Nagar, said: “We are already putting in a lot of efforts to make drivers and parents aware about the SVVS. One of the vendors had a bus with so many defects. It is great that such defaulting drivers are being caught. We are taking a lot of precautions, but many times drivers do not listen to us and parents too do not pay heed. The school has complained to the authorities several times.”
HR manager Kritika Seth and transport officer of BCM School, Shastri Nagar, said: “We have 63 drivers registered with us who are allowed inside the school. The rest without permits are ferrying students from outside the school. We have been sending reminders to parents, but they said we should be ready to give an affidavit for their ward’s safety. We have written to the DC, CP, ADCP Traffic, DEO, RTA, SHO, and ACP of the area to take strict action against violators. Such violators should not be encouraged. All the buses of our school follow the SVVS, but only 75% buses have woman attendants.”
Additional transport officer Shyam Lal Sharma said: “The buses which were impounded did not bear the school name and accessories like speed regulator, first aid kit, hydraulic gate, and grills. The buses were also not registered and had no insurance papers.”
Though there were more buses without permits, drivers locked the buses immediately after seeing the officials and fled from the spot.
The bus union, along with the RTA officials, will take up this drive for a few more days.
--------------------------------
The guidelines:
· As per the scheme, all school buses, vans and auto-rickshaws should be painted yellow with a green stripe all around.
· Vehicles ferrying schoolchildren should not be more than 15 years old from the date of registration.
· Vehicles should be fitted with approved speed governors with a maximum speed limit of 40km per hour.
· Vehicles should possess a contract carriage permit.
· Drivers of school vehicles need to have a valid licence to drive a transport vehicle for a period of at least four years.
· They should not carry children beyond the permitted capacity.
-----------------------------------------
Parents, a worried lot
Inderpal Singh Chawla, father of Prabhjot Singh who is in Class VIII at Bal Bharti Public School, said: “Safety should be the first priority, but no one cares. Coordination is required from people and the administration to reach the desired results. School off time should not be the same as it creates traffic jams leading to accidents and traffic cannot be diverted at this time. People should also park their vehicles in a proper manner to avoid accidents.”
Anik Garg, a parent of a student who studies in KVM, said: “I feel safety and security of students is compromised by schools. But this ignorance is mainly in old local schools of the city, whereas new international schools in Ludhiana are well equipped. Moreover, parents are carless. They prefer local mode of transportation rather than proper school buses. My daughter goes to school by her school bus. However, my neighbour’s daughters are going by a private vehicle. Charges are similar and timings are also same. If we pass through the lane adjoining KVM, small children are seen crossing the road. Therefore, parents should also look after the safety of their wards.
Sandeep Anand whose children are studying in BCM school, Sector 32A, said: “I am not dependent on private transporters. I drop and pick up my children from the school. Safety and eve-teasing are the main reasons that I drop my children on my own. My wife picks the kids in the afternoon. Why should I pay Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 to private transporters, while I am happy to pay Rs 2,500 as EMI for a new two-wheeler for my wife.”
Uma Gupta whose child Mayank Gupta is in Class VI at Delhi Public School, says: “Safety should be the priority in every school. I have seen so many buses of different schools which are not even in a proper condition. School authorities should take action against drivers of such buses. First-aid kits should be there in every bus and one teacher must be accompanied with kids in every bus to check the speed limit and safety of the children. A majority of accidents occur due to dearth of skilled and expert drivers and to avoid this, drivers should be trained and educated about the road safety and traffic rules.”
--------------------------------------------------
Recent checking:
· September 3: School buses were checked under the Safe School Vahan Scheme (SSVS), and two buses ferrying students of BCM School, Shastri Nagar, were impounded and fined by officials of the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) as they were not registered.
· September 4: Five more school buses were impounded for violating safety norms. Three buses were ferrying students of Delhi Public School; one from BCM School, Shastri Nagar; and one from Shri Guru Hargobind Sahib Public Senior Secondary School, Ayali Kalan.
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