Bantwal: Autos Playing with Lives of School Kids?

By Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Bantwal (RD/CN)

Bantwal, Jun 26: Normally, if you hire an auto, the driver will not let in more than three people at a time, and if you insist and offer extra cash, he will reluctantly allow one more, but just one more.

But the same auto driver, in the mornings and evenings, will have no qualms about stuffing in at least 10 children along with their massive bags, water bottles, lunch boxes and umbrellas into that same space.

Vehicles with an excessive number of schoolchildren are a common sight these days. Auto rickshaws, mini buses and vans that transport students are much in demand by parents, who, given their own busy schedules, prefer them to dropping off their children themselves. In many of the households, with both parents working, hiring autos and vans is an easy solution.

But seldom do parents care to check the safety of their children in such overstuffed vehicles. Many a time children are seen balancing themselves on the rickshaw bars on the side and sometimes even standing by the driver's seat. Both positions are dangerous, given the traffic situation in the city and the condition of the roads. A little jerk on a pothole may be enough to put a child holding on to the bar out of balance. All this is simply ignored by the auto drivers as well as the authorities and even by parents themselves.

The transport department had in fact enforced separate rules for vehicles carrying school children, but very few automobile owners or drivers are aware of these traffic rules.

No wipers

A school mini bus belonging to an education institution which makes four trips to the city transporting a number of students from their houses to their school and back home has malfunctioning wipers. The driver complains that his employer is not bothered about the maintenance of the bus. When the rain lashes the windscreen, he is afraid to drive as visibility is poor and traffic moves fast.

Yellow paint compulsory

Although the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) made it compulsory to apply yellow paint on school automobiles, it seems most of the school managements have not taken note of it. School vehicles seem to be recognisable only because of overcrowded passengers, their school bags, and umbrellas.

Although the RTA issued guidelines to school bus operators to limit the number of passengers, to provide a cabin to keep school bags and lunch bags and apply yellow paint, school vehicle operators have not bothered to implement these rules.