Friday, 25 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The enforcement team of the regional transport office (RTO) of Dehradun is gearing up to commence a drive from the new academic session in April against the school buses flouting norms to ensure safe commuting of students. The move is aimed at checking issues like overloading and whether the vehicles carrying students follow all protocols. The officials have also appealed to the parents to register complaints about their grievances related to school buses, which can be done anonymously too. After a 12-year-old school girl lost her life when her school bus which was allegedly overloaded, crashed into a tree in Vikasnagar last month, many parents have expressed their concern over the reportedly unmonitored operations of such buses and other vehicles carrying students in Dehradun. Talking about the operation of school buses in Dehradun, the regional transport officer (Enforcement) Sunil Sharma said that there are over 300 school buses registered in the RTO but only about 200 buses are operating in Dehradun at present. He said that the enforcement team has already warned the administration of all listed schools to not operate school buses if they do not hold necessary documents like fitness permit and others. “Since the schools have just started to operate regularly, the RTO has directed the school administrations to run school buses as per the provisions. However, our team will start a stringent campaign from next month when a new academic starts in schools to check school buses and vehicles like vans through which students commute on a daily basis,” said Sharma. He also added that parents can complain to the RTO about the grievances regarding school buses too. He said, “Parents can simply send a mail at dehradunrto@gmail.com to register their complaints about improper operation of school buses. I understand that many parents remain apprehensive of complaining to authorities fearing their child might have to bear the brunt of the school if their identity would be revealed but they can complain anonymously. All they need to mention in the mail is their grievances, the name of the school, bus number and the route it operates on.” He said that the complainant does not need to mention his or her name or any information related to their child but they should leave a contact number of a person in the mail who can be contacted if RTO needs more information. Also, the RTO will not reveal the identity of the complainant to the school at any cost even if s/he mentions their name in the complaint, asserted Sharma. He said that such caution and contribution from parents will immensely assist the administration in proper monitoring of such vehicles.
