Safety of school buses: Too many responsible

Right from RTO to the school, bus operators to drivers and conductors each has to be wary in his duty

Three-year-old child comes under wheels of school bus, father blames school authorities for negligence, school says it followed rto norms in awarding contract for vehicles, blames bus operator

Who will take the rap: The driver of the school bus was reportedly driving the bus rashly, while the two female attendants chatted away. Representation pic

Should the school be accountable for any mishaps caused by its school bus? In the case of the three-and-a-half-year-old kindergartener who was crushed under the rear wheels of a school bus, the school authorities do not think so.
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Shiven Santosh Gupta, a kindergarten student of Pawar Public School, had boarded the school bus in Magarpatta city around 10.30 am and was on his way to school. Barely, half-an-hour later he met with his death under the wheels of the bus.

While Shiven's grief stricken family had only the school to blame for the mishap, the school insists they had awarded the contract for the school bus to a private operator keeping in mind all the norms issued by the Regional Transport Office (RTO).

"It's a total case of negligence on behalf of school authorities," said a visibly distraught Sanjay Gupta, Shiven's father, who is a software engineer.

Passing the buck
Washing its hands off the matter, the school said it was the responsibility of the bus operator Sai Tours and Travels from Kasba Peth to ensure the bus was well-maintained and followed all the rules prescribed by the RTO. The company has contracted 30 buses with the school.

"This incident happened because of negligence on the part of the contractor. We will look into the matter and cancel our contract," said Shantanu Sugavekar, administrative officer with the school.
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Expressing his grief, Sugavekar said, "The school administration, principal and staff stand by the family in their grief."

School's duty: RTO
Earlier, RTO officials told MiD DAY that even schools are supposed to look into matters regarding the upkeep of buses, even in cases where the buses are privately arranged between the parents and the
contractors.

"Primary responsibility of complying with norms lies with the bus operators. But at the same time, the school authorities should look into the matter, as they are also responsible for the safety of the children," Deputy Regional Transport Officer Sanjay Dhaygude had said.

Driver arrested
The school has registered a case with the Hadapsar police. The driver of the bus Bandu Jadhav (31) has been booked for negligence and rash driving, and the two woman attendants on the bus Sujata Bhambe (31) and Jayashri Tambe (30) for negligence.u00a0

"The driver Jadhav applied sudden break causing the folding doors to open suddenly. In the impact, Shiven was thrown out on the road. According to one of the attendant who was away from the door she even tried to pull his hand but it was too late, by this time he was already crushed under the rear wheel," said Assistant Police Inspector Satish Chavan.

The accident took place over 100m away from the main gate of Amonara Park where Pawar Public School is located.

Attendants careless
The police said there were 32 children in the bus and all were from kindergarten. The police said the two attendants present in the bus had failed to keep a watch on the students.

"The students and parents are in deep shock and we will record their statements tomorrow," API Chavan said.