Mumbai: Fix potholes or we stop work, warn school bus operators

School bus operators have given the BMC a week to fix potholes

Potholed roads in the city have led to protests from one more quarter. Mumbai school bus operators have threatened to stop plying their vehicles if roads in the city and suburbs are not made motorable as ferrying children has become riskier due to the poor condition of streets.

"If potholes are not repaired on major arterial roads within a week, we, the school bus owners, will be forced to take a decision to stop the operation of buses for the time being. We will take a final decision in this regard this week," said Anil Garg, president, School Bus Owners' Association (SBOA), Maharashtra.

He added that a meeting with all stakeholders would be held on Thursday.

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"SBOA has failed to understand how school buses are going to run on such potholes. The government, on the one hand, talks about the safety of children, but on the other, harasses school bus drivers for the smallest offences. Even if tyres are punctured due to potholes, the traffic police immediately penalise us. Children are reaching their schools and homes late due to bad roads and parents question school bus operators. Is there no accountability from the authorities who maintain roads," he asked.

Stating that bus rides have become dangerous due to such roads, he added, "Potholes make it very difficult for our drivers to navigate especially when there are kids on board. We want the state to take prompt action. Besides being risky, the potholed roads are leading to faster wear and tear and early damage to vehicles, adding to maintenance costs. A decision needs to be taken on this."