Drive against school vehicles with excess capacity taken up in Manipur

Imphal: Manipur government has taken up drive against school vehicles transporting students against prescribed capacity, with drives taken up by Manipur Police and CRPF in Bishnupur district on Monday.

“The initiative comes in the wake of growing concerns over overcrowding in school transportation, posing significant risks to the safety and well-being of students and has also been seriously viewed by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety,” said state Traffic Control Police Wing in a statement released on Monday.

It urged schools and school vehicle associations to adhere to maximum students limit in schools vehicle for safety.

In a bid to ensure the safety of school students commuting in vehicles, the Transport department, Manipur vide Manipur Gazette Extraordinary No. 385 dated 22/09/2015 had issued a strong advisory to all concerned regarding the maximum limit of students allowed in school vehicles along with other conditions, the statement said.

Overloading vehicles beyond their capacity not only violates the law but also increases the likelihood of accidents and injuries, especially in the event of sudden braking or collisions, it added.

The Traffic Control Police Wing emphasized the schools and school vehicle associations to strictly enforce and adhere to the specified maximum student limits in school vehicles as prescribed by the Transport department.

According to the Gazette notification no vehicle belonging to or in use for any educational institution shall seat children in excess of 1.5 (one point five) times of its registered capacity.

As empowered vide Manipur Gazette Extraordinary No. 189 dated 07/09/2019 published by the Transport Department, Government of Manipur, the Traffic Control Police Wing will compound under Section 194A of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 against all those school vehicles’ drivers who does not comply with the above seating capacity.

The Traffic Control Police Wing, Manipur reiterated that the safety of school students is paramount, and collective efforts are essential to safeguard the well-being of our future generations on the roads.

Chief minister N. Biren Singh congratulated Bishnupur SP team and CRPF through his Facebook post.

He said similar drive will be conducted in other districts of the state. “Licence will be cancelled for those who do not comply with the government initiative.”