Mangaluru: Ten years after the harrowing Trasi incident that killed eight schoolchildren in Udupi district, stakeholders say children’s safety remains a concern, especially as uninsured private (white board) vehicles ferrying students continue to operate in large numbers.This is despite the district education department issuing directions to field officers, and bringing the issue to the notice of the deputy commissioner and the additional deputy commissioner to take strict action against vehicles transporting schoolchildren illegally. In a letter dated March 23, GS Shashidhar, Dakshina Kannada, DDPI, sought details on action taken against such violations.The Dakshina Kannada School Vehicle Drivers’ Association on Thursday raised objections to the continued prevalence of such vehicles, despite the outrage following the Trasi incident, which involved a white board vehicle. Sunil Kumar Bajal, honorary president of the association, said, “Ten years ago, the Trasi incident triggered nationwide outrage, leading to the mandate for yellow board vehicles. These vehicles come with insurance. To comply with the law, we incur an annual overhead of Rs 50,000, a large portion of which goes towards insurance.”“We have also installed panic buttons at a cost of Rs 14,000, with an annual renewal of nearly Rs 4,000, all in the interest of safety and compliance,” he added.“However, white board vehicles continue to increase in number, ferrying students without deterrence,” he said, pointing to the lack of disincentives for violators and the disadvantage faced by law-abiding operators.“For the past five to six years, we have submitted multiple representations to the authorities. It is regrettable that no stringent legal action has been taken. At best, a few are fined and let off,” said Lokesh Surathkal, secretary of the association.Surathkal added that while Supreme Court guidelines permit 1.5 times seating capacity for children below 12 years and one child per seat for those above 12, “we are being pulled up despite complying with the law, while private vehicles operating for part-time income continue unchecked.”
