PERNEM: Parents as well as the Parent-Teacher Associations, headmasters and teachers and from Pernem taluka have expressed concern over the safety of students commuting by the Balrath buses which they claim are both unsafe and unroadworthy.
They demanded that the Balrath buses which operate almost every day are old and need to be replaced.
“They are both old and antiquated vehicles and for children to travel by such buses is really unsafe,” said parents speaking on condition of anonymity.
“These buses are almost 12 years old and unfit to transport hundreds of students. The funds to repair these buses are insufficient and as a result the vehicles are not maintained and keep breaking down on and again,” said Raghoba Kambli, Headmaster of Shree Bhagwati High School, Pernem.
“Providing transport to students was a good initiative on part of the government but the buses are in real bad shape. The grants allotted for maintenance of these vehicles are insufficient and as a result they keep on breaking down. I would request the government to could scrap these buses and replace them with new ones keeping the safety of children in mind,” stated a parent.
Another PTA member pointed out that instead of increasing salaries and facilities of the MLAs and Ministers, the chief minister who is also the education minister should work on investing in these buses and providing safer transport facilities to students.
“Balraths are in a bad condition, the metal floor has corroded, the handles have dismantled and these vehicles need to be replaced at the earliest. While other vehicles are scrapped after 15 years, these buses should be replaced every three years because they operate every day without proper maintenance,” said another parent.
Sudesh Dhargalkar PTA chairman of Viscount Primary School also raised the concern over the safety of students travelling by Balraths. “The government needs to work out something to either replace these vehicles or upgrade the existing ones as the lives of students travelling by the buses are at risk.