Noida magistrate orders inquiry into accident, issues guidelines to schools

In view of Thursday’s accident which claimed two lives including a HCL employee Pragya, Noida District Magistrate, N P Singh on Friday ordered a magisterial inquiry and directed Noida ARTO to conduct a drive to cross-check the mandatory equipment as per Supreme Court guidelines installed in city school buses.

The DM has also directed city schools’ managements and principals to avoid hiring contract buses which are not equipped with safety measures such as first aid boxes, fire extinguishers, speedometers and GPS. If the schools are found flouting the rules, the violators will be fined.

A magisterial inquiry is being conducted by Bachu Singh, City Magistrate of Noida, who is the head of it. He has called Noida Police’s investigating officer, Marigold and Amity International Schools’ managements for interrogation at his office.

Singh also directed the school managements to follow the Supreme Court guidelines and norms before hiring school bus drivers and school buses.

 The school buses must be equipped with first aid boxes, the buses must have school names and contact numbers on the front and sides of the bus, it should also have a portrait plate where ‘on school duty’ has to be written, there should be no students standing in the bus, space should be given under seats for the students to keep their bags, double audi grilled installed at window, minimum five years’ experienced drivers should be hired for driving school buses and the buses should have a GPS system and speedometers so that buses cannot be driven at more than 40 km/hr speed.