A week after two school students died due to the negligence of school bus staff, Education and Transport Minister Arvinder Singh on Wednesday said strong action will be taken against the school managements and bus operators violating the norms of Supreme Court in this respect in the city.
A high-level meeting was convened under the minister and attended by R Chandramohan, Commissioner (Transport), Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), S M Ali, Additional Commissioner of Transport, Sunita Kaushik, Additional Director of Education and members of Delhi Contract Bus Association.
At the meeting, it was decided that every school bus would have a bus in-charge who would make sure that all children aboard the buses were safe. Singh further informed that a conductor with a valid licence, in addition to an attendant, would be mandatory to be present on the bus by 30 September 2012.
The minister said every school would have a route plan for buses, a list of children traveling and designated bus stops. These lists must be submitted to the traffic police, Transport department and Directorate of Education by 15 August 2012.
Education officials said only those school buses will be operational which follows the norms and the government would not compromise with the safety of school children and safety norms. The government has also decided that minimum three grills will be installed on the windows of every school bus with a gap of maximum 20 centimeters, as a safety measure.
The speed limit for any commercial vehicle has already been determined as 40 km per hour. Sources said show cause notices would be issued for violation of the speed limit and driving licences of the drivers would be cancelled for the second violation.
Meanwhile, parents seemed happy with the steps taken. Mithu Chowdhury, a resident of Mayur Vihar, said, ‘It’s good that the government is finally taking some action and is serious about the safety of our children. After those two incidents, I strictly ordered my daughter to be careful while travelling on a school bus.’
Nitin Kapoor, a resident of Dwarka, said, ‘Safety on buses is very important and the government should impose stricter penalties on the defaulters. Let’s see, how far can they now implement these new guidelines.’
A high-level meeting was convened under the minister and attended by R Chandramohan, Commissioner (Transport), Satyendra Garg, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), S M Ali, Additional Commissioner of Transport, Sunita Kaushik, Additional Director of Education and members of Delhi Contract Bus Association.
At the meeting, it was decided that every school bus would have a bus in-charge who would make sure that all children aboard the buses were safe. Singh further informed that a conductor with a valid licence, in addition to an attendant, would be mandatory to be present on the bus by 30 September 2012.
The minister said every school would have a route plan for buses, a list of children traveling and designated bus stops. These lists must be submitted to the traffic police, Transport department and Directorate of Education by 15 August 2012.
Education officials said only those school buses will be operational which follows the norms and the government would not compromise with the safety of school children and safety norms. The government has also decided that minimum three grills will be installed on the windows of every school bus with a gap of maximum 20 centimeters, as a safety measure.
The speed limit for any commercial vehicle has already been determined as 40 km per hour. Sources said show cause notices would be issued for violation of the speed limit and driving licences of the drivers would be cancelled for the second violation.
Meanwhile, parents seemed happy with the steps taken. Mithu Chowdhury, a resident of Mayur Vihar, said, ‘It’s good that the government is finally taking some action and is serious about the safety of our children. After those two incidents, I strictly ordered my daughter to be careful while travelling on a school bus.’
Nitin Kapoor, a resident of Dwarka, said, ‘Safety on buses is very important and the government should impose stricter penalties on the defaulters. Let’s see, how far can they now implement these new guidelines.’