Nagpur: With schools reopening across Maharashtra and thousands of students depending on school buses for daily travel, BJP MLA Pravin Datke on Wednesday raised serious concerns over the safety of school transport in Nagpur. Speaking in the state assembly, Datke urged the govt to initiate an immediate statewide inspection of all school buses, vans, and auto-rickshaws ferrying students.Referring to a high court treating the issue as a PIL, Datke said as many as 837 school buses are operating in Nagpur without valid fitness certificates, potentially endangering the lives of children. He demanded that the transport department take urgent action and ensure that no unfit school bus, van, or rickshaw is allowed to ply on city roads.“Transport officials must obtain complete records of all vehicles involved in student transportation and take strict action against those operating without fitness clearance. Ensuring children’s safety must be the topmost priority,” Datke said.His intervention comes days after the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court took suo motu cognisance of the TOI report and converted it into a public interest litigation (PIL). The high court issued notices to the state govt and civic authorities, seeking a detailed reply on how school transport vehicles were being monitored and regulated.MLA Datke also acknowledged the high court’s move and said that the judiciary’s action, prompted by TOI’s investigative reporting, was a wake-up call for the administration. He reiterated that the House too must act responsibly and ensure that immediate steps are taken across all districts to protect schoolchildren.
