Navi Mumbai schools have 15 days to make buses safe

Balashaheb Maneu00a0 education officer of municipal corporation in the satellite city -- has written to 139 schools, ordering a speedy implementation of all safety norms issued by the state

After a series of school bus accidents in Navi Mumbai exposed the violation of safety norms prescribed by
the state, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation's (NMMC) Education Officer Balasaheb Mane has decided to take strict action against the principals of schools that fail to implement the norms.


Death on wheels: Mangled remains of the school bus owned by Fr Agnel
Multipurpose School, after it collided head-on with a tempo near Nerul
Flyover. File pic

Face the music
Mane has written to 139 schools in the region, seeking an immediate implementation of all the recommended safety norms issued by the state in two weeks, or face the music.

If the schools fail to implement safety measures within the stipulated deadline, Mane will be asking the schools to discontinue their respective schools bus services.

Most of the schools in Navi Mumbai have hired private bus operators.

15-day deadline
Commenting on his initiative, Mane said, "We have asked all the schools in Navi Mumbai to implement safety measures as per the state's guidelines. If the current bus contractors are reluctant to implement them, schools should change their contractors. After 15 days, we will inspect all the buses and will stop bus service of any school found violating the safety norms."

In addition, school principals will be held responsible if a school bus is found ferrying kids without proper safety measures in place.

"If we come across school buses that are ferrying students without recommended safety measures, we will ask the school managements to initiate action against principals or we will take strict action against them," said Mane.

Officialspeak
Sandesh Chavan, assistant regional transport officer, Vashi RTO, said "We are going to inspect all the school buses in Navi Mumbai after the recent school bus accident, in which an exit door came off easily, hurling a child out of the bus.u00a0 We will take strict action against those schools and contractors who have failed in implementing recommended safety measures in school buses."

Highway mishap



Earlier this month, MiD DAY had published a report ('5 kids hurled out of exit door in school bus mishap', January 20) on how five children suffered grievous injuries when they were hurled out of the exit door of a school bus belonging to Fr Agnel Multipurpose School, Vashi, after it collided head-on with a tempo near the Nerul Flyover on the Sion-Panvel Highway.