Special drive in Rajasthan to check fitness of school buses

The Rajasthan government Friday said it will run a special seven-day drive across the state to check the reliability and quality of schools buses.

Replying to a question during Zero Hour in the assembly, Minister of Transport Pratap Singh Khachariyawas said the fitness, insurance and security-related issues of the buses will checked during the campaign.

The fitness of the school buses is a serious issue as it is related to the safety of the students, he added.

The Transport Department also carried out a similar campaign a few months ago. The department has data of all the vehicles checked, Khachariyawas said.

He said the registration of the vehicles that will not meet the standards will be cancelled.

No school bus will be allowed to ply on the road without a fitness certificate, he added.

The minister said the government has ordered that seating arrangement should not be 1.5 times more than the capacity of a bus as per the Supreme Court guidelines. He said directions have been given that sides of autorickshaws be fitted with grills to ensure the safety of the children.