District Transport Commissioner (DTC) A. Mohan refused to stop raids on private school buses which are moving on roads without Fitness Certificates (FC).
Mr. Mohan clarified that the raids will continue till July 15, and no vehicle should come on to the road without FC. In all, 1,750 educational institution buses are there in Krishna district, but only 1,000 vehicles have FCs.
“The school management should strictly follow the norms prescribed by the government in operating the buses, failing while the Transport Department authorities will seize the vehicles. The officials seized about 45 buses in Nandigama, Jaggaiahpeta, Machilipatnam and other places in the district on Thursday,” the DTC said.
Follow rules
A.P. Private Schools Association Krishna District president K. Chandra Shekar, state general secretary V. Sundara Ram, Vijayawada Children’s Schools and Tutorials Association president G. Sambasiva Rao and others met the DTC and requested him to stop raids on school buses.
The managements appealed to the officer to give some time to take FCs and give relaxation on some conditions.
However, the DTC clarified that the raids were being conducted as per the directions of the government and he is not competent to take any decision.
Speaking to The Hindu Mr. Chandra Shekar said the parents and teachers were not willing to travel in school buses regularly as ordered by the government. It was not possible to maintain route maps and the list/details of the students in the vehicles.
“We will adhere to the rules put up by the government in maintaining school buses and we are taking utmost care for the safety of children. But, we request the government to remove some rules which are impossible to follow,” Mr. Chandra Shekar said.
Meanwhile, managements of various schools called for an emergency meeting at Machilipatnam on Thursday and discussed the problem.
