Collector S. Saravanan inspects school buses in Dindigul on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: HANDOUT

With the schools set to reopen next month, Collector S. Saravanan inspected school buses and vans for road worthiness in Dindigul on Tuesday. A total of 446 vehicles were inspected and certificates of nine vehicles cancelled due to defects.

In a press release, the Collector said that school buses and vans are inspected every year to ensure the safety of students. The vehicles would be checked for all safety parameters. Over 600 school vehicles will be inspected across the district during the exercise.

The Collector, along with Regional Transport Office, Police and Fire and Rescue Services officials checked whether the school vehicles had CCTV cameras, GPS systems, speed governors, first-aid kits, fire extinguishers, emergency exits, safe seats, safe footboards, proper doors and windows, space for keeping school bags, vehicle insurance and other safety features.

All the vehicles have to comply with 23 types of safety parameters and only those vehicles that comply with all of them are permitted to ply on the road. The owners of the vehicles that did not comply with the regulations were asked to rectify the defects and then come back for inspection.

The vehicle owners were asked to renew the licence if it had not been done already. A demonstration on how to operate fire extinguishers and first-aid kits was made. The Collector said that necessary steps will be taken to operate additional government buses during the school hours in the morning and the evening on routes where there were many schools, in order to ensure that the students do not have to travel standing in the bus.

The Collector also laid emphasis on the need to create awareness among the drivers of the safety measures to be followed. Necessary instructions will be issued to prevent overloading of school vehicles and private autorickshaws with children, the press release said.