No bandh hurdle for pool cars, school buses

Kolkata: Almost 30% of the school buses, catering to around a dozen leading schools in the city, hit the roads on Friday, despite the 12-hour strike called by the Left organizations. Carpool owners said that around 15% of their vehicles plied on Friday when several city schools reopened after a gap of 344 days. However, the school bus and carpool operators did not report any bandh-related problem.The operators indicated that the number of pool cars and school buses might go up from Monday.
According to Himadri Ganguly, general secretary of the West Bengal Contract Carriage Owners’ and Operators’ Association, around 450-500 buses picked up and dropped students throughout the day. “We had a few students on board in the morning. But a few schools have made staggered attendance for the students. We are expecting higher attendance from Monday,” said Ganguly. He added, “We are trying to provide each helper with a thermal gun. We are also stocking up sanitizers and we hope that the students will maintain social distancing.” Arpan Banerjee, whose school buses ply in Behala, said he was planning to form a Whatsapp group for each bus so that they could tell parents about the conduct of their wards while travelling.
Arupam Dutta of the Poolcar Owners’ Welfare Association — that has contracts with parents, not schools — said, “Many parents made arrangements on their own for their kids’ commute to schools. On Friday, one of these vehicles plied with a single student.” He added, “With Class X resuming on Saturday at some top schools, we expect things to stabilize from next week.”