Schoolbus rams tractor parked on Sohna Road, its driver dies

Gurgaon: The driver of a bus carrying 40 students and staffers of GD Goenka World School died on Monday morning after the vehicle crashed into a tractor parked along Sohna Road. None of the students or the staffers were injured in the accident — the second such in the city since schools opened for physical classes last month.
Rahul, the attendant of the bus, said in his complaint to police that the tractor was parked in the middle of the road. The police are trying to find out if the driver, Ram Hari Dixit, was new on the route and possibly unaware of the speed limits and other guidelines for school vehicles. Sources in the police said the damage to the bus and the tractor suggested that the school vehicle may have been speeding. There were 15 students in the bus while the remaining were teaching and non-teaching staff.
Following the attendant’s complaint, an FIR was registered at Sohna (City) police station under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 283 (causing danger, obstruction or, injury in any public way or line of navigation) and 304 (causing death by negligence) of the IPC.
“We are investigating the matter. It is yet to be ascertained if the tractor was parked in the middle of the road or by the side of it. The tractor driver is absconding. The family of the truck driver has been informed, but they are yet to reach the city from their hometown in UP,” said Umesh Kumar, the SHO of Sohna police station.
Neeta Bali, the director-principal of GD Goenka World School, said the bus belonged to the institute and not any vendor. “We are still assessing the situation. It’s a matter of relief that all the students are safe. We will look into the matter internally,” she said. Bali did not take any more questions.
This was the second such accident in less than a month in the city, baring the alleged mismanagement of transportation services ever since schools opened for physical classes in April. On April 18, a four-year-old student was crushed under the rear wheel of his bus while being dropped off in Shikohpur area. There were allegations that the driver stepped on the accelerator even before the student had got off the bus. In neighbouring Ghaziabad, a Class 4 student died after he leaned out of the school bus window to throw up and his head banged against an electricity pole on April 20.
School transport facilities have come under the scanner ever since offline classes resumed in April. Shut for two years, schools failing to recover transportation fees from parents were forced to downsize their fleet. Many old vendors, who were trained to handle children and aware of the routes students took, either left the city or took up new jobs. So, when the schools opened this time, many were forced to hire new staff in a hurry to provide the transportation facility to students. Many schools claimed that parents had opted for transportation.
From students returning home late to drivers missing scheduled stoppages, there have been multiple complaints from parents. “It’s the responsibility of the school management to ensure that there are speed governors in buses. Fortunately, all the students and staff are safe,” said Pradeep Rawat, the co-founder of the Gurgaon Parents Association.
Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said they would take steps to prevent such accidents in the future. “We will soon start awareness drives in schools and then challan the drivers flouting the rules,” he added.