Bus with 33 school students catches fire near Dhaula Kuan, all kids safe Illegal buses, cabs continue plying despite crackdown
CLOSE SHAVE Alert driver saves children after noticing flames, bus was hired by parents
NEW DELHI: Thirty-three schoolchildren had a close shave when their bus caught fire near Dhaula Kuan as they were returning home from their school on Tuesday morning.
The children from Kendriya Vidyalaya 3 in southwest Delhi‘s Naraina were safely evacuated just in time after the driver reportedly noticed flames in the engine around 10 am.
For the next hour, the kids watched in horror from the roadside as firefighters used three fire tenders to douse the blaze.
Recalling the incident, driver Vijay Kumar Rawat said any delay in reacting could have led to a big tragedy.
“I saw smoke and blaze through the rear-view mirror when the bus reached near metro pillar no. 26 at Vande Mataram Marg, Dhaula Kuan. Sensing danger, I immediately applied the brakes and cautioned the students,” said Rawat. An onlooker informed the police about the fire.
Atul Garg, additional director of Delhi Fire Services, said they received a call informing about the fire around 10.10am. By the time the firefighters reached with help, the children had been rescued but the fire had gutted the bus. Garg said the fire had been doused by 11.20 am.
Delhi Police, however, said that they were still unaware of the cause of the fire or where it might have started.
“No case has been registered yet but a probe is on. The cause of the fire is not known,” said DCP (southwest) Shibesh Singh.
A student, who spoke to HT after the incident, had a different version of what might have happened. He believed that the fire started in the front tyre on the right. “I raised an alarm and all my fellow students came out. The fire tenders arrived
(Guideline suggested by Delhi Police) THERE WERE MORE THAN 25,000 CABS AND BUSES PLYING ILLEGALLY AND FERRYING SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE CITY
school cabs, vans seized in August 2017 school buses seized in Sept 2017 soon,” said Shiv Pal, a student of Class 10.
He said he lost his bag in the fire though the police said children had enough time to rush out with their belongings. “I asked the driver to get it back for me but he told me I should be glad that I survived,” said Pal.
The bus, hired by the parents, was taking the students towards 'School bus' written prominently on back, front of van/private bus 'On School Duty' displayed on hired bus or van
First-aid box
Horizontal grilles on windows
Fire extinguishers
School name, telephone number Reliable locks on doors
Valid licence, 5 years experience (heavy vehicle) At least one conductor
Space under seat for bags
Escort from school
Annual fitness certificate Pollution control certificate
50 kmph
south Delhi after their classes got over around 9.30 am.
Kendriya Vidyalaya suspends classes early on the last day of every month, said a police officer.
Rawat said there was no conductor or teacher accompanying the students in the bus. Some parents, however, reached the spot later. School principal Pallavi Cab owner, driver should be verified by police. Recommendation from school must before taking service Regular communication with kids to detect if anything is abnormal Inform cops if anything is amiss
Keep track of cab driver, timings, routes. Interaction with school authorities Sharma also reached the spot, an investigator said.
When Hindustan Times called the school for a comment, the principal was unavailable. ML Bunkar, who identified himself as an in-charge at the school’s office, told HT on the phone that the bus did not belong to the school as they did not provide any transport facility to students. NEWDELHI: Tuesday’s incident of a private bus catching fire has brought the spotlight back on how children in the Capital travel to and from their schools.
Despite a special drive being carried out in September, illegal cabs and buses continue plying with impunity in the city and errant drivers and conductors continue to have a free run.
The Delhi government had cracked down on school buses and cabs plying illegally after the murder of an eight-year-old boy, allegedly by a bus conductor, at Ryan International School in neighbouring Gurgaon and the rape of a seven-year-old in her school in Shahdara.
“We had seized 520 school buses in the city after the Ryan school case. Out of this, 503 buses were the yellow-coloured ones and 17 were contract carriage or private buses,” said an enforcement officer of the transport department.
The drive, which was supposed to continue throughout the year, however, was not continued after September.
After the seizure of a number of buses in September, representatives from various schools had urged transport minister Kailash Gahlot to stop the drive. Gahlot then had put a 10-day ban on prosecuting school buses and cabs and asked the schools to conform to rules within that period.
But the drive was never resumed after the 10-day deadline lapsed. This despite the fact that the government’s own estimates suggested that there were more than 25,000 cabs and buses plying illegally and ferrying school children in the city.
Only 9,600 cabs and 2,766 buses are actually registered with the transport department.
A transport department official blamed the inaction on staff crunch. “For over one crore vehicles in the city, we have only 60 inspectors who have to be deputed 24x7. There are other tasks too in which these people are required,” an official said
POLICY NOT DRAFTED
Delhi’s Road Safety Council, in its first meeting after its reconstitution in August, had decided to draft a full-fledged policy on safe transportation of school children.
However, nothing moved on the ground.
“The problem is that there are one set of rules from the CBSE, another from the traffic police and a third set of rules that are mentioned in the Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules. There is a need to factor in all set of rules into one,” said RC Jain, president of Delhi State Public Schools Management Association.