398 buses found unfit, 117 buses impounded and 281 challaned in 24 hours

Haryana government has initiated investigation into the recent school bus accident in Mahendergarh on Thursday. According to TVSN Prasad Haryana Chief Secretary All private schools will be required to submit an affidavit ensuring their buses meet safety norms and stern action will be taken against any violations discovered in this regard. Reports suggest that the driver may have been intoxicated and the vehicle lacked essential documents such as a fitness certificate. A show-cause notice has been issued to the school, along with why the school remained open despite a public holiday. Sadly, six to seven children lost their lives and nearly 20 sustained injuries in this mishap when the bus overturned. Transport Minister Aseem Goel stated that an FIR has been filed, prompting the government to launch a thorough inquiry. A committee of senior state officials will look into various aspects of the mishap. The school’s negligence in continuing to operate the bus, despite recent fines for lacking documents, has been highlighted. Instructions have been given to register a FIR against the school, and if the motor vehicles inspector or any related person failed in his duties, appropriate action will be taken against them. Goel said, We had challaned the bus for Rs 15,500 due to a lack of documents,and a lapse of the school authorities has been found.

Officials have been directed by the chief secretary to ensure the fitness of all school buses across the state by the district transport officer and district education officers. Mahendragarh Deputy Commissioner Monika Gupta assured media persons that the administration is prioritizing the treatment of the injured children and both the driver suspected under the influence of liquor and the school authorities will face consequences, without any exemption. Regarding the absence of a fitness certificate and other necessary documents for the bus, DC said that these issues will be thoroughly investigated as part of the FIR process. Education Minister Seema Trikha who visited the injured children in the hospital, highlighted the major fault of the school operating on a holiday and stated that a show-cause notice has been issued. Trikha also emphasized the importance of ensuring compliance with norms for all private school buses, with actions to be taken against any violations found as confirmed through affidavits. According to information, the Hisar RTA and police teams carried out special drives by putting up nakas at various points in Hisar town. The police have impounded seven school buses and issued challans to 16 other school buses for violations of the Surakshit School Vahan norms.

According to a police official, during checking they found that a large number of vans were being used to transport children to the schools without having required documents, having no driving license by the drivers and moving on roads without observing safety measures. He said the majority of vans lacked safety measures and were found to be overcrowded. Some school vans were not yellow-coloured, which is mandatory for school vehicles. Some school buses had schoolchildren sitting on the bonnet and bus drivers were not in uniform.

In Jind, the RTA authorities conducted checking of 20 buses and issued challan to 10 buses while impounding five vehicles. The team went to a prominent private school on the basis of a complaint filed by residents today. The team counted 63 children sitting in a bus of this school which was more than the sitting capacity. During checking, it even found three condemned buses which were being plied on the road to transport schoolchildren. Motor Vehicle Assistant Sanjiv Kaushik said the buses which did not have the fitness certificate were impounded. Information reveals that there are nearly 14000 school buses in the state, of these 524 buses have been detected unfit and RTA does not have record datas of nearly 10000 school buses. According to information received so far there are nearly 1000 buses registered in Jind, nearly 1800 buses in Jhajjar, nearly 1400 buses in Karnal, nearly 1554 buses in Kurukshetra, nearly 482 buses in Charkhi Dadri, nearly 1100 buses in Fatehabad, nearly 1200 buses in Ambala and nearly 1035 buses registered inRohtak district. The RTA teams accompanied by the police also carried out inspection of the school buses in Fatehabad and Bhiwani districts. In Fatehabad, the police issued challans to five buses for defective GPS system, overcrowding and non-availability of the transport permit.

Haryana Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad while talking to media persons at Chandigarh said that stringent directives have been issued to the civil and police administration to check within the next 10 days, the fitness of each and every school bus in their districts even as a committee was set up to probe the factors leading to the accident. According to officials, all concerned departments, including the traffic police, on Friday carried out special drives across Haryana to check whether school buses plying on the roads were following all norms and had necessary documents like roadworthiness, pollution under check, and valid permits. 

In Gurugram, owners of 2,700 buses of about 500 private schools were summoned by the administration to check their documents and fitness verification while a comprehensive campaign will be conducted in the coming few days to check the buses, said an official of the transport department. On Friday, 45 buses were checked and challans were issued to 16 buses for flouting rules while 11 buses were impounded for not meeting fitness standards, he said that the bus operators are mandated to ensure the functionality of CCTV cameras, GPS systems and ‘panic buttons’ installed in buses catering to student transportation. Meanwhile, Prasad chaired an emergency meeting and was informed by Additional Chief Secretary, School Education, G Anupama that the Mahendragarh district municipal commissioner has assumed control over the management of the school whose bus was involved in the accident.
The meeting, conducted via video conference and convened to reinforce safety measures in schools, saw participation from divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, range additional DGPs, commissioners of police, and district SPs, as advised by Shatrujit Kapoor DGP Haryana. “It is very important that unfit buses be promptly replaced with new ones and trained drivers be engaged by schools to ensure safe transportation. If any school fails to comply with the instructions, strict and exemplary action be taken against those responsible,” the chief secretary directed. He told the officials that he wanted strict action against all those responsible for the accident, asserting that those who play with the lives of innocent children must face severe consequences. Chief Secretary Prasad said that numerous policies and guidelines have already been issued by the relevant departments for safety purposes. However, the effective implementation of these measures lies with the field officers. He also cautioned officers that in the event of a recurrence of such an incident, decisive and unprecedented action will be taken at the senior level too. Prasad emphasised that all officers must ensure the replacement of unfit school buses with new ones by the school management. Additionally, they should screen and ensure that trained drivers are employed, he said that send a clear message to all the schools to ensure strict adherence to safety instructions and guidelines issued by the relevant authorities for the protection of children, and he will personally monitor the situation closely. Haryana Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur said child helpline ‘1098’ has been integrated with ‘Dial 112’, the state’s centralised emergency helpline.

The committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of additional deputy commissioner, Mahendragarh to inquire into the matter and asked to submit its findings at the earliest so that further necessary action can be taken accordingly in the accident occurred near Unhani village in Kanina in Mahendragarh district when the bus was carrying around 40 children to the G L Public School. Police had said the driver was caught at the accident site and his medical examination confirmed he was under the influence of alcohol. They also said that the bus did not have a fitness certificate and other