Whip on school van overloading

GARHWA: The district administration will crack whip on over-loaded school van drivers as it has clamped down on private school vans and auto-rickshaws carrying children in excess of their capacity.
Garhwa SDM A Muthu Kumar and DTO Sunil Dutt Khakha on Saturday held a meeting with directors of all private schools running across the town in connection with over-loading.
Kumar told the private school directors to strictly comply with the order failing which stern action would be taken against drivers and owners of commercial vehicles who were found flouting safety norms and endangering lives of school children only to earn a few quick bucks.
Khakha said that children should be accommodated according to the capacity of vehicles as per the Supreme Court order and guidelines of the state government. Moreover, he said that there should be medical kit and fire extinguisher in every school van. The DTO has also asked the directors to submit a list of total number of children, list of vans and their coming and going everyday.
The van and auto-rickshaw drivers have protested against the administration's move. According to them, they are compelled to overload to counter hike in fuel prices. "We are forced to carry more children," said Dipak Paswan, a van driver who ferries schoolchildren from Meral, 10 km, from here.