School blamed for Delhi bus mishap

NEW DELHI, Dec 16: The Delhi Government's report on the bus accident at Wazirabad in which 30 school children were killed on November 18, h...

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NEW DELHI, Dec 16: The Delhi Government’s report on the bus accident at Wazirabad in which 30 school children were killed on November 18, has indicted the driver, the principal of the school, the traffic inspector and the contractor of the bus.Central district Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Narain submitted the inquiry report today to Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, who said that action would be initiated against these officials within ten days.

The report states that the major cause for the accident was speeding by the bus which “covered its distance including seven stops, 13 red lights, picked 120 to 140 students in 45 minutes” every day.

It also indicts officials of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of the school, the principal and the transport in-charge, holding them collectively and individually responsible for the tragedy.

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Pointing out that the argument about not being able to afford buses is not valid, the report says, “The school had Rs 7 lakh in the bus fund in fixed deposit. Even if the school were to hire a few more buses, each bus would have cost only Rs 7,200.”“The bus fund had contributions by 671 students for eight buses,” the report says while identifying overloading as one of the causes for the incident.

Another important reason for the accident has been given as the sand on the road.

Reconstructing the events leading to the accident, the report says that the overcrowded bus was speeding on the bridge. The driver was chatting with the conductor. A white Maruti suddenly appeared on the other end of the bridge and sped toward the bus. In order to avoid collision, the driver of the school bus slightly swerved to his left. But the sand at that particular spot did not hold the wheels and the bus went out of control crashing into the protective railings on the side. The railings gave way. The bus, which had 120 children, plunged into the river Yamuna.

On the role of the traffic inspector, the report says, “The traffic inspector accepted not having challaned the bus for over-crowding because he did not want to inconvenience children and not having challaned for over-speeding because of verbal orders from the Metropolitan Magistrate.”