Nizamabad: Old, rickety school buses pose threat to environment

Nizamabad: The private schools across Nizamabad & Kamareddy are using hundreds of old and rickety buses that are contributing to the degradation of environment.

90 per cent of school transportation in the erstwhile Nizamabad district was not meeting Environmental Quality Standards (EQS). Most of the buses are diesel-run. There are around 710 private school buses in Nizamabad district alone and 96 per cent of them are without BS6 standards. There are a number of security vulnerabilities for these buses.

A good example of these old buses is the incident where two students were seriously injured when an old school bus rammed into a tree near Nallavelli village in Indalwai mandal January 28, 2020. These buses are causing environmental pollution in cities and villages and are more dangerous for the students in terms of pollution and also regular mishaps on the roads due to brake fails and other other issues in the buses as they are old.

The transport official informed that they had asked the private schools on several occasions to avoid operating the buses but the influential owners of the educational institutions seem to have just ignored it. He said that the government needs to take proper action against the old and hazardous buses. Private schools should install two fire extinguishers in each vehicle and also ensure availability of emergency door in the buses. According to the Motor Vehicle Act, registration certificate, insurance, fitness certificate, permit, tax receipt, pollution and control certificate and driver's license are mandatory. Drivers must have five years of experience. Most buses are operated by drivers over the age of 60 who are retired in TSRTC.

No eye tests are performed on drivers. Every bus must have a driver and an attendant. Details on each bus must be entered online. The driver photo must be set up on the bus. The mirrors should be fitted with a grid. The school owner must issue a health card to the bus driver. Medical examinations should be done every three months to the bus drivers as well as the attendants of the bus. The driver's license must be verified by the school owner and the driver's details must be submitted to the parents' committee. Awareness programmes should be held for the driver and students for safe travel. Attendance must be taken by students on each bus. An additional bus should be arranged for every 10 buses. The school name, address and phone number should be written on the left hand side of each bus. Every month, the school principal and the parents' committee must inspect the buses and register should be maintained.

The school management should take steps to ensure that the driver has a complaint book and ensure that buses have first aid kits and side mirrors. It is mandatory for the management to ensure that it should not allow the students to board beyond the capacity of the bus. It is compulsory to make sure that the battery wipers and indicators on both sides of the bus are working. Appropriate action should be taken in accordance with Covid-19 regulations as per the current scenario.

Buses belonging to educational institutions must be operated in accordance with the regulations. Students are not allowed to board buses without RC fitness and pollution certificate. The rules must be strictly enforced on every bus. Private school owners should instruct every student to wear a mask to prevent the spread of while traveling by bus. Owners should also take care that no untoward incident takes place while travelling.