Mumbai: The bus that ran over the six-year-old Gautam Naidu in Kandivli was not meant to ferry children to school. It was a private, contract run bus that did not have permission to ferry schoolchildren.
It was hired by those parents who could not afford the bus service provided by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel School.The safety norms prescribed by the transport authorities do not apply to such 'illegal' buses.
The Kandivli school offers bus service only for pre-primary section. The extra fees for bus facility starts from Rs600 a month depending on the area, many parents belonging to a low-income background and are unable to afford it.
Sangeeta Srivastava, principal and chief academic officer of Kandivli Education Society that runs the school, said: "We had offered parents a choice to hire BEST bus service, but they preferred a cheaper alternative. Often as many as 150 children are packed into a bus."
The School Bus Owners' Association said such "illegal" buses continue to run as they are hand in gloves with the transport authorities. Unlike regular school buses, such buses do not have any agreement with the school and do not have a permit to carry schoolchildren.
"Every school has at least 8 to 10 such illegal buses, since they are cheaper. But these buses flout all safety norms, yet no action is taken against them," said Santosh Shetty, school bus owner in Navi Mumbai.
Anil Garg, president of the SBOA, said principals are reluctant to sign agreements with regular school buses as it puts the responsibility of safety on them. "Illegal buses are plying across the city because schools can shirk responsibility in case of a mishap," he said.
Puja Pednekar / DNA
December 6, 4:10 IST
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