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STATES: SCHOOL TRANSPORT
LAPSE 3
Schools: Not our baby?
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WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?: Sparsh Sharma lies in hospital
after falling from the footboard of a bus
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Schools are also facing the heat. Rohit Baluja,
president, IRTE, asks, "How can they evade responsibility for overcrowded
or ill-maintained buses?" His point: the responsibility should not
be limited to contracting buses and running them any which way. But Chona
points out, "I do try to supervise the running of buses but contractors
do not listen to me." True. Monitoring of such buses is cursory and
they tend to be a law unto themselves. A recent study by the Institute
of Driving, Training and Research (IDTR) found that of the 7,500 bus drivers
who were tested for driving and road behaviour, close to 1,125 failed
outright.
Schools argue that they are not in the business
of transport but of education. Principals feel that the responsibility
should rest with the parents and the police. But Baluja says schools just
cannot wash their hands off transportation. They do need to post teachers
to supervise the running when buses arrive and depart from school. Also,
holding classes to educate children on road safety is a must.
LAPSE 4
Parents: The finger pointers
Parents come in for their share of blame. The
prevalent attitude is one of "it-won't happen-to-my-child",
till disaster strikes. Harsh Sharma, 45, underwent the trauma firsthand
when son Sparsh fell off the footboard of his bus and was severely injured.
Sharma says that the bus system in her son's school was always chaotic
but felt that the responsibility was that of the school. Concerned by
the overall apathy, parents in some schools like Vasant Valley have evolved
a simple system to ensure greater safety. Apart from contracting the bus
themselves, they ensure that no bus leaves without a parent on board who
sees to it that the bus is run safely. A strict roster system is followed
so that each parent takes his turn.
LAPSE 5
The State Government: Who me?
For long the state Government pretended it was
an innocent bystander. After the storm of protests, Delhi Chief Minister
Shiela Dixit's Government has been galvanised into a show of action. There
have been high-level meetings and plans with educationists and police
officials. Part of the problem is the terrible state of roads in and around
some of these schools. Delhi's sidewalks are a nightmare terrain of tumble-down
shops, parked cars, signboards and stray cows. Rajiv Talwar, special commissioner
(transport), admits, "It is besides the point as to which civic agency
is responsible for maintaining roads and sidewalks- we've become too good
at saying 'it's so-and-so's job'. All concerned civic agencies have to
get their act together." Till recently, though the Delhi Government
has shown little action.
So is there an agenda to control the tide of
young blood on Delhi's streets? In the past month, a glimmer of hope has
emerged. Some of the steps:
The Department of Transport has been coordinating
with the IDTR to train drivers and conductors (currently there are 40
drivers and 40 conductors in the batch).
# A Special Transport Cell has been set up to
serve as a data bank on school buses and for verification of drivers'
qualifications.
# The traffic police has identified 1,089 schools
which do not have their own transport. Apart from educating children in
these schools, the police are deploying officers to warn children not
to be careless when boarding buses.
While these measures provide some relief, everyone
concerned must put their shoulders to the problem. The character of a
city can be gauged from the way it observes traffic rules. As Periera
says, "Enforcement can't be the only answer. We need a change in
attitude. Apart from public participation, schools have to be involved.
We, of course, have to do our jobs as well." Otherwise, Delhi will
see many more young lives being unnecessarily lost.
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