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KATHMANDU: Traffic police personnel have intensified monitoring of school buses in Kathmandu Valley following recent school accidents involving school buses.
Two died when a bus of Junikiri School met with an accident near Dakshinkali of Kathmandu on February 9. Three days later, three died when a bus carrying students of Satya Sai School met with an accident near Sankhu. Fifty others were injured in the accident.
Senior Superintendent of Police Binod Ghimire, chief of Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, said they have launched a special inspection campaign with focus on school buses. “We have found cases of driving under influence in school buses. Needful action is being taken against such drivers,” Ghimire said.
Stating that police monitoring alone is not sufficient, he said school promoters and teachers must also be vigilant. He urged school operators to be especially careful about potential drunk driving during picnic trips.
Following the two school bus accidents in Kathmandu Valley, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology issued a notice calling school operators to compy with the School Bus Directives, 2017. The ministry has requested relevant ministries, traffic police and local administration to ensure that the regulations are complied with, conduct monitoring, investigate accidents, and take action against those responsible.
“We are specifically checking school buses for driving under the influence, engine problems and other issues with the buses,” Kathmandu Valley Traffic Spokesperson, Superintendent of Police Sanjay Bahadur Raut, said. “We have caught drivers operating vehicles under the influence of alcohol and drugs. We have filed cases with them.”
He added that all 78 traffic police units in the Kathmadu Valley have been directed to conduct inspection of school buses.
(Translated from RSS)
