With schools set to reopen during the first week of June after summer vacation, the Regional Transport Office (RTO), district police, revenue and Education Department carried out a joint inspection of school buses in the district for issuing Fitness Certificate (FC) for this academic year.
Led by Regional Transport Officer J. Sheik Mohamed, a team of Deputy Superintendent of Police R. Annamalai Alwar, Kumar, an environmental officer in the Education Department, and Tahsildar Kamalabai carried out the inspection at D Block near the RTO here on Thursday. After a six-year-old girl was run over by her school bus, after she slipped through a hole on the floor of the vehicle, near Tambaram in Chennai in July 2012, the State government had issued the Tamil Nadu Educational Institutions Special Rules, 2012, laying down strict guidelines for issuing FC for vehicles that transported schoolchildren.
Mr. Mohamed said that there were 438 school buses in the district and 208 were inspected on the first day of the two-day drive. The authorities cancelled FCs of nine buses for violations such as defects in emergency exits, speed governors, fire extinguishers and absence of medicines in first-aid boxes.
The educational institutions that owned these vehicles were given time to rectify the faults and obtain the FC before the reopening of schools, the RTO said. The drive would continue in Paramakudi on Friday to cater to school buses in Kamuthi and Mudukulathur areas, he added.
Motor Vehicle Inspectors N. Saravanakumar (Ramanathapuram), P. Manickam (Paramakudi) and Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector A. Ashok Kumar assisted the officials in conducting the inspection. During the inspection, the authorities checked the height of footboard, driver cabin, seats, bag racks, floorboard, windows, window grill and emergency exits. The vehicles were also checked for reflecting tapes, first-aid boxes, fire extinguishers and speed governors, Mr Mohamed said.
Autos used for transporting school children would also be brought under the scanner, he said. The school authorities had been advised to check the antecedents of the drivers before employing them and periodically verify their conduct and character to ensure the safety of school children, the RTO added.
