The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Drive against school buses set to intensify

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Monday, Jun 15, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Drive against school buses set to intensify

Staff Reporter

150 of them are on the roads violating safety norms

Schools should also recruit drivers having five years experience
Permits to be cancelled if managements fail to adhere to rules

- PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

Cracking the whip: The Transport Department is insisting on good condition of vehicles and measures for safety of children.

HYDERABAD: With the education calendar having started, the Transport Department has decided to intensify its drive against school buses that ply without safety measures.

From Monday, the department will check school buses in twin cities and cancel permits if vehicles are found to be operating in violation of rules.

Fitness certificates (FC) of 800 buses out of 950 have already been renewed and the rest are operating the vehicles flouting the safety norms, officials said.

Rules stipulate that the school managements have to renew fitness certificates by May 16 every year to ensure safety of the children. Each vehicle should have an emergency exit and first-aid kits along with an attender to guide children while travelling in the bus.

The managements must also recruit drivers having five years experience.

But some continue to ignore these rules and operate buses as per their whims and fancies.

A nursery student, V. Dhanush (3) of Nizampet was crushed to death under the wheels of his school bus on the school premises at Hydernagar in Kukatpally last year.

The accident occurred when the driver tried to reverse the bus without noticing the boy standing behind the vehicle.

Bus driver Sunil was arrested on the charge of negligence, police said.

Joint Transport Commissioner, B. Venkateswarlu, said permits would be cancelled if managements failed to adhere to rules.

“We have already seized 20 buses during surprise checks conducted on Friday. We are mainly insisting on condition of vehicles and measures meant for safety of children,” he added.

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