Objection to Govt initiatives
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: September 25, 2024 -

AS life must go on despite all that is happening and the challenges thrown upon us, we really do appreciate the fact that the Government of Manipur has taken up steps to ensure safety of students commuting to schools in school vans and also started a drive against drunk driving.

As a matter of fact, carrying of students in school vans or buses more than their prescribed seat capacity and driving under the influence of liquor are two main issues among many other concerns flagged by a committee constituted by the Supreme Court of India in 2014 to monitor the implementation of road safety laws in the country.

This committee, which later came to be known as the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety or SCCoRS, in its abbreviated form, recognised that road accidents have become a major public health issue today, and so, road safety needs to be addressed on a holistic basis as road accidents involve not just the roads and motor vehicles but also precious human lives.

So, it is understandable why the Traffic Control Police Wing of the Government of Manipur has harkened back to an advisory issued by the Transport Department, under Manipur Gazette Extraordinary No. 385 dated September 22, 2015 when its SP (traffic) released a press statement on Monday reminding the schools and school vehicle associations about the need to strictly adhere to the maximum student limit prescribed for school transportation, simply because the said advisory had been issued following the directives of SCCoRS.

Considering this fact, one may wonder why All Manipur School Students' Transporter Association (AMSSTA) has reacted so strongly to the reminder and threatened to cease service immediately if any of its drivers are detained or arrested and their licenses are cancelled by the government in the name of enforcing the directives on the limit of students that a school van can carry.

While no one would subscribe to such threats from an organisation which is responsible for ensuring the safety of young school going children, we also need to question the seriousness of Government of Manipur in coming up with the decision of enforcing the maximum student limit prescribed for school transportation or for that matter, launching drive against drunk driving out of the blue.

There is no denial about the school vans acting against the Supreme Court ruling of carrying students not in exceed of 1.5 times their registered seating capacity in case they are less than 12 years in age.

All these years, one can easily see young students being transported to and fro crammed in school vans everywhere.

So, why the sudden need and urgency to enforce the Supreme Court ruling now only?

Is it going to be a long-term measure to be enforced with genuine concern for the safety of school going children or just another flash in the pan like many other government initiatives we have seen in the past?

These are important questions and we are raising them not for the hack of it.

For successful enforcement of the Supreme Court mandated directives, setting up of District Road Safety Committees for each district in the state in accordance with Section 215 of The Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and ensuring their proper functioning is essential.

But no one is really sure of how these District Road Safety Committees are functioning in the state or have they been ever constituted in the first place for monitoring implementation of the State Road Safety policy and the targets set under it.

Howsoever genuine the concern of the government might be, all these gaps and everything in between need to be taken care of before talking about ensuring safety of students commuting to schools in school vans or starting drive against drunk driving, which are serious issues nonetheless, so that even a responsible organisation like All Manipur School Students' Transporter Association (AMSSTA) does not lose its cool.