Many vans stay off road in Ludhiana

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 17

For the fear of being challaned, many school vans stayed off road today. This is the scene every time the district administration tightens its noose on defaulters. The erring drivers stop plying their buses for a few days, and when the department loosens its grip, they again spring into action.

Many vans were stationed at some distance from schools and students were seen going on foot towards the vehicles.

The question here arises is for how long will this continue?

Ankita Garg, who takes the services of a private bus for dropping and picking up his eight-year-old son to the school located in Sarabha Nagar, said yesterday, she got a call from the driver that he would not be coming to pick up and drop her ward for a few days.

“First, I thought he might be having some urgent work. But when other parents told me that their drivers also made the same excuse, I realised that they are not coming as the department was going to launch a challan drive against defaulters,” she said.

“The session of my child is getting over in a few days and till then, I have decided to pick up and drop him at the school myself. After that I will hire the services of the bus if it complies with all rules. I will personally check the documents and the bus,” she said.

Shweta Saini said the driver of her daughter’s school bus told her that he would not be dropping and picking her up from the school’s main gate.

“It was so risky, so I refused to send my daughter in the bus. When the administration goes strict, they stop plying their buses or drop school kids at a distance,” she said.

Another parent, Harinder Singh, said what happened in Sangrur was really tragic and every district/state should learn a lesson from it.

“We cannot put the lives of kids at risk and the department should crack the whip on defaulters. This checking should not be an exercise for a few days but should be made a regular drive. Schools should be made accountable for every vehicle ferrying schoolchildren. In fact, a school should have the details of all buses, vans and autos that ferry their students,” he said.