Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
By Dheeraj Fartode
With Regional Transport Office (RTO) intensifying its drive to check safety norms on buses transporting school students, the aggrieved owners have given a call for a one day strike on February 5. Shaley Vidhyarthi Bus Wahatukdar Kalyankari Sangh (SVBWKS), the Association of owners whose buses are engaged by schools, are feeling the heat of the RTO drive. They have alleged that RTO action is bordering on harassment, as the agency goes about checking whether the bus owners have implemented stringent norms for safety as notified by Sate Government. About 428 school buses would be off roads and the children are going to be worst affected.
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| Fined school buses standing behind RTO office, Giripeth |
On Monday, RTO imposed fines on 22 school buses, which prompted the owner organisation to up the ante. President of SVBWKS, Rajendra Singh Chouhan, stated in press release, that bus owners are co-operating with RTO officers. The owners are ready to implement the new rules but wanted some time. The fines imposed by RTO is against the rules, he contended.
It’s our social responsibility to ensure safety of school students and bus contractors are ready for it. However, RTO officials are ruthless in dealing with bus contractors. “Bus operators will not play buses in the city if the drive is not stopped,” said Chouhan.
RTO fined 22 school buses
RTO and Traffic Control Branch of Nagpur city police cracked a whip against school bus operators and slapped fine on 22 buses today. Three special squads were formed for the drive and buses were checked at Manewada Ring Road, Central Avenue, MIDC Hingna Road, Katol Road and Koradi Road. The buses were found to be lacking in safety norms that was notified by Maharashtra Government.
New safety rules for school buses
- Buses should be equipped with one first-aid box and two fire extinguishers (ABC type, 5kg capacity)
- Only steel-bodied, yellow-coloured buses can transport school children.
- Every school bus should have an attendant. In case of girl students, there should be a female attendant.
- Every school bus should have a list of students travelling on the vehicle along with their parents' contact numbers, blood groups, etc.
- 3 horizontal steel bars should be placed at a distance of not more than 5 cm from outside on each of the bus windows.
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