Srinagar, Aug 29: Assistant Regional Transport Officer (ARTO) Enforcement, Jammu and Kashmir, Mubashir Jan has raised serious concerns over the use of private vans for transporting schoolchildren, stating that such vehicles do not meet the prescribed safety standards for school buses under the Motor Vehicles Act and the AIS-063 protocols.
Speaking to reporters here, Jan said school vans being used for transporting children are “totally illegal” and warned that authorities and society should not wait for a mishap before taking the issue seriously.“We often wake up when a mishap happens,” Jan said, stressing the need for parents to opt for approved school buses instead of hiring private vans for community transport.
He urged parents to ensure that vehicles used to ferry children comply with prescribed safety standards. “I will request them to hire approved vans, and it is best if they choose school buses,” he said.The ARTO said enforcement teams across districts have been conducting regular checks against traffic violations and unfit vehicles.
He added that action has intensified in recent times, with thousands of driving licences and Registration Certificates (RCs) being suspended for violations.Jan said road safety enforcement is an ongoing process and cannot be expected to resolve all violations overnight.
He stressed that greater public cooperation, coupled with the use of technology, would be crucial in making enforcement more effective.“If people support us, whether it is regarding scrapped vehicles, oversized vehicles, alterations in vehicles or traffic violations, enforcement can be 100 per cent efficient with two things—technology and people’s support,” he said.
Giving details of enforcement measures, the ARTO said that more than 4,000 Registration Certificates and driving licences have been suspended so far.He explained that suspension of a driving licence entails further compliance, including a fresh 15-day training programme, medical examination and a new driving test before the licence can be restored.
The officer cited action taken against heavy commercial vehicles, saying that the department had cancelled the fitness of 46 dumpers and tippers in Budgam and Pulwama for violations, including failure to display rear number plates and poor tyre conditions. Jan said the enforcement drive against unfit and unsafe vehicles would continue.
Addressing traffic congestion in Srinagar, the ARTO said that halted and improperly parked vehicles remain a major cause of traffic problems, particularly in Lal Chowk and the Central Business District (CBD).He said a significant number of rickshaws and other vehicles contribute to congestion when they remain halted on busy roads.
Proper parking arrangements and strict regulation of roadside parking, he said, could substantially ease the problem.Jan pointed out that traffic movement is comparatively smoother during strikes and at certain off-peak hours, which, according to him, demonstrates the impact of unnecessary roadside parking on congestion.
He appealed to shopkeepers and commercial establishments to avoid keeping vehicles parked outside their shops throughout the day and instead use designated parking spaces.The ARTO called for greater use of technology in Srinagar’s CBD and other busy areas to improve traffic management, parking regulation and enforcement.
He also acknowledged that overloading continues to be a concern, partly due to inadequate public transport availability, although he said there has been considerable improvement in the public transport system.Jan urged citizens to actively report violations and unfit vehicles to the authorities, saying that enforcement teams cannot be present at every location simultaneously.
“People are messaging us that a particular minibus is unfit or overloaded. We cannot be everywhere,” he said, while appealing to the public to assist the administration in curbing violations.He maintained that sustained enforcement, public cooperation and technology-driven monitoring would be essential to improving road safety and preventing avoidable accidents across Jammu and Kashmir.
