School van hits car, six kids hurt

Mumbai: A school van ferrying six students collided with an automobile at 6.45am near the east-west bridge in Kandivali on Tuesday. The students sustained relatively minor injuries. The students were on their way to the Children’s Academy in Ashok Nagar, Kandivali (east). The Kandivali police has detained the van driver and seized his vehicle.

However, he was later released when he produced all the van’s papers. The police has booked him for not having a valid permit to ferry students, and registered a minor accident case.

Officers at Kandivali police station said five students who were sitting in the van sustained minor bruises, while a girl’s left knee was injured.

The children were immediately rushed to the private Namaha Hospital in Kandivali (west). The staff that attended to the victims said that injuries could be ameliorated with a few ice packs. The students’ parents then reached the spot and left with them.

Mumbai police’s spo-kesperson DCP Rashmi Karandikar told The Asian Age, “Since it was a minor accident and nobody was injured, no case was registered against the van driver, but an accident case was registered in Kandivali police station.

Anil Garg, the president of School Bus Owners’ Association (SBOA) said, “We have been shouting ourselves hoarse about the perils of mini-vans and the threat to children who travel in them, as they do not conform to any of the school bus safety norms stipulated by the central and state government. The traffic department and politicians turn a blind eye as they benefit from illegal vans.”

He added, “The SBOA has made several representations to various authorities pointing out the discriminate practices adopted by them, victimising bus owners and not taking any action against vans or auto-rickshaws thus compromising the safety of innocent children. The governme-nt should take responsibility for Tuesday’s incident where the kids were miraculously  saved”

THE TWO SIDES OF THE DEBATE

CASE FOR

• Vans are small and hence can go into small lanes thus allowing doorstep drops.
• Vans charge fees based on distance and hence are economical for parents.
• The waiting time for vans is lesser than school buses as there are fewer children to pick up.
• School vans take less time for children to reach home or school.

CASE AGAINST

• Safety rules like minimum and maximum seating capacity are violated
• Due to space constraints, female wardens, as stipulated by the school bus safety norms aren’t found on board.
• Drivers aren’t screened by any authority.

THE CASE FROM 2013 TO 2017

• The deputy transport commissioner recently informed the HC that the state government in a notification to schools in 2013 had asked them to be sure about the safety measures implemented by vans before allowing them to ferry children to and from schools.
• However, the education department had suspended the notification, after which 3,331 vans granted school bus permits were allowed to ply.
• The petitioners have claimed that this was done by the education department to encourage private operators at the cost of compromising the safety of children by taking away the authority of the schools.