Vadodara: On day two of school van strike, police ferry students to school

“Every vehicle carrying students has to follow certain safety norms like not carrying more students than the actual capacity and overcrowding the van,” Vadodara traffic police ACP AK Vanani said explaining the reason behind the crackdown. “We initiated a drive in this regard in Vadodara as well, but the association (of auto-rickshaw and school van drivers) called for a strike. But we understand that the schools have just reopened and it is not easy for every parent to drop their children to school. So we have devoted our morning hours to help such students so that they do not face any inconvenience and do not miss classes. We will continue to do so until the strike is called off.” he added.

The RTO and police began the crackdown on vehicles transporting students to school, a day after three students fell down from a moving school van in Ahmedabad. The van had been carrying as many as 22 children, due to which the door could not be closed properly and the students fell down when the vehicle took a turn.

On Tuesday, drivers of three buses, 12 auto-rickshaws and 16 vans were detained by the RTO and the Vadodara traffic police for not following safety norms. Following this, the drivers of school vans and auto-rickshaws went on strike.

Two public interest litigation petitions had been filed in the High Court over the past decade, following which it was decided that a maximum of 14 students under 12 years of age can travel in a van and six in an auto rickshaw. Action is being taken against vehicles flouting this norm.

School van accident: driver arrested

The driver of the school van from which three children fell out because of overcrowding and were injured on Monday, was arrested on Tuesday for rash driving and negligence. He got bail on Wednesday.

A 16-year-old girl was critically injured while two others escaped with minor injuries when the Maruti Eeco van, packed with 22 children, took a steep right cut in Nikol area, resulting in the students being flung off the van. The police registered a case against driver Kiran Desai on Tuesday and arrested him the same day.

“We have booked him under Indian penal code sections 279 and 337 for rash driving and causing hurt by act of negligence, along with other sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. He is a resident of Nikol and we arrested him on Tuesday. He applied for bail and he was released on Wednesday,” Deepak Kumar, Head Con-stable and Investigating Officer, G Division Traffic Police Station, said.