Siliguri Metropolitan Police convened a meeting on Tuesday with representatives of transport operators who provide school buses in the city and adjoining areas.

The meeting, held at the Siliguri police commissionerate, focused on improving student safety and ensuring smoother traffic management during school hours.

Quazi Samsuddin Ahmed, the deputy commissioner of police (traffic), said that 714 buses ferry students to and from 53 schools in and around Siliguri every day.

“This large bus network operates multiple rounds of trips every day, and managing traffic on such a massive scale is challenging. We have advised the transporters to strictly follow necessary guidelines to ensure the safety of students and to help ease traffic movement,” the DCP (Traffic) said after
the meeting.

The police officers also stressed that school bus operators must adhere to all standard safety protocols. These include installing proper surveillance systems, such as CCTV cameras; regular maintenance and fitness checks of all vehicles; deployment of trained bus drivers holding valid and appropriate documents; mandatory presence of a school-appointed assistant or attendant in each bus; and compliance with all regulatory norms governing school transportation.

Ahmed said those measures were critical to ensuring that schoolchildren travelled in a safe and supervised
environment.

The DCP added that, following instructions from the commissioner of police, a similar meeting would soon be held with representatives of private bus owners.

“We will hold a similar meeting with private bus owners for better traffic movement and management in the city,” he said.