Ranchi: An FIR against St Francis School, Banhora, for violating road safety rules has prompted anxious parents to speak out against other institutions in the capital where student safety is conveniently ignored despite Supreme Court guidelines and state crackdowns.
Ranchi SDO Anjali Yadav, during a surprise inspection in Pandra on Tuesday, intercepted a St Francis bus (JH-08B 9792) crammed with 125 children against its standard capacity of 52. Also, the khalasi (assistant driver) was found to be drunk on duty.
President of Jharkhand Parents' Association Ajay Rai, himself a father of three school-going children, contended that not just St Francis, but most private cradles were guilty of blatant violations.
According to Rai, the last school bus committee meeting on April 26, 2016, drafted a safety policy copies of which were issued to all cradles.
"The circular says a school bus can carry a maximum of 1.5 times of its standard capacity. If a bus has 52 seats, it cannot carry more than 78 students at a time. Also, every school is required to procure at least one breathalyser for testing drivers. No school in the city follows these rules," he said.
Rai said the circular further clarified that a student should be dropped at a designated stop and in the presence of parent/guardian who has valid ID issued from the school. The khalasi must blow his whistle to alert waiting parents at the stop. "All these rules have few takers," he added.
Vikas Kumar, a lawyer and resident of Lalpur, said he had last week lodged a written complaint with St Thomas School, Dhurwa, after his son wasn't dropped at the designated point. "My issue was quickly resolved. But, the concern remains," he added.
Several parents at St Francis echoed Kumar's fears.
"My wife does not want our sonto use the school bus anymore. These are children, not cattle. You can't pack them all into one bus, a rickety one at that," said a parent who lives near Ratu Road.
Another parent, who is in the state police service, said he was there to take his nephew home. "My nephew was in the same bus that was caught. We cannot take chances. The school authorities should be held accountable," he said.
Parents said St Francis charged between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,500 for its bus service, and did precious little to ensure safety of children.
"Yesterday was not an isolated case when a bus employee was caught drunk. Also, there have been instances of underage driving. The administration has no control over schools," said the mother of a Class X boy.
St Francis principal Benedict Tirkey, who has been named in the FIR along with bus owner Premchandra Bara and khalasi Naveen Tirkey, wasn't forthcoming in answering questions. "Investigation is going on. We can't share details of students and transport facilities," he said.
The school is said to have over 600 students from kindergarten to Class X. It has a fleet of five buses and two mini-buses, all outsourced.
"The FIR has been lodged under Sections 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, besides Section 180 (allowing unauthorised persons to drive vehicle) and 194 (overloading) of the Motor Vehicles Act," said Pandra outpost OC A.K. Bhengra.
The cleaner who was detained has been released on personal bond, he added.
