Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji inspected school buses and vans at the Regional Transport Office in Namakkal on Sunday evening to check if the vehicles followed the norms laid down by the State Government to ensure the safety of children.
Out of the 124 vehicles checked, the fitness certificates of 34 vehicles were cancelled. He asked the drivers to rectify the defects within a week and produce them before the RTO officials and get the FC.
RTO officials told The Hindu that a total of 1,545 school buses and vans were operated by the education institutions under Namakkal RTO region (comprising Namakkal, Rasipuram, Kolli Hills and Paramathi-Velur Taluks and Tiruchengode region). “A total of 1,060 vehicles were inspected on Saturday and Sunday, of which a total 912 vehicles were certified to transport students”, officials said.
“As many as 148 vehicles were identified with minor defects. The remaining 485 vehicles will soon be checked”, the officials said.
Industries Minister P. Thangamani, District Collector D. Jagannathan, Joint Transport Commissioner S. Paneerselvam, Deputy Transport Commissioner V. Vijayakumarasamy, Regional Transport Officers of Namakkal R. Rajinikanth and Tiruchengode V. Jayagowri, motor vehicle inspectors and other RTO staffs were present during the inspection.
