Even after the introduction of Bal Rath buses in Goa to ferry school students there are many schools which still remain to be covered under this service. This has given rise to private registered buses and vehicles operating illegally, ferrying children to school without necessary maintaining the minimum safety standards needed to protect the little ones
In Margao, serious attempts are being made by Road Transport Office (RTO) to stop this illegal activity. However, the manner in which it is trying to curbing the menace have led to misgivings amongst some parents who felt that the RTO is doing the right job at the wrong time.
Herald has reported that A RTO squad consisting of couple of officers had stopped school buses in the afternoon preventing students from going home and left them hungry and held up the vehicles for over an hour at a school.
The incident had happened at a city school wherein nearly 100 students were held up at the school in the afternoon as the buses which carried them home were reportedly stopped by the RTO. Later it was learnt that the buses were non commercial transport vehicles and were stopped by the RTO for being non-permissible to ferry the students.
This reaction came after they claimed that the RTO officials had done the right job but at wrong time. A parent from a city school said “What RTO is doing is a great job to assure the well being of our kids. But the inquiry has to be done in the morning not in the afternoon when the kids are hungry and need to reach home,” he said.
However, some of the citizens of the Margao town have different versions over the issue. Some say that it was not the insensitive RTOs but the unauthorised private transporters ferrying school children beyond capacity who were responsible.
The Assistant Director Transport, Prahlad Desai, said “The RTO stopping and checking documents of the buses is being done for the safety and the betterment of the students. This has been ordered to be done by High Court after there was a suo moto cognisance of the Calvim tragedy,” he said.
(In February 2012, a mini bus carrying school children plunged into the Calvim river at Aldona killing 7 including four students)
He further added, “We can’t stop buses in the middle of the road and hold them up for long, neither can we go in search for the buses otherwise nor we can cause inconvenience during trips. Hence, while in schools it’s the best time to book cases and clear the buses”.
Meanwhile Shailendra Dessai, President of South Goa Bus Owners Association said “The RTO should book the Government run buses who have no permits and neither have proper documents, rather than booking buses plying legally on the goodwill of the parents of the students,” said Shailendra.
He also informed that the buses have tourist permits and there is no restriction on carrying passengers.
Since the issue is very perplexed all the parties are expecting the authorities to get all the irregular regularised so that none of the stake holders are troubled.
