How safe are our children?
The number of school bus accidents in India paints a scary picture. The rising number of accidents due to negligence of bus owners or drivers has made parents across the country cautious. One of the most gruesome tragedies of children dying in a school van happened in 2008 in Mumbai's Millat Nagar area.
A school van carrying 12 children caught fire. Six children were burnt to death. Among the six who survived are Mudassar and Shakeel. Even these kids were badly burned, with scars for life. Although the cause of the accident was directly related to the faulty and ill-maintained van, the driver did not face any punishment. But what did happen because of this accident, was that the Supreme Court of India ordered school buses to follow certain guidelines. Among the most important are that buses or vans should have a fire extinguisher and a reliable speed governor.
Over 27,000,000 students travel in 5,00,000 buses across India. They are at risk of being a victim of someone else's irresponsibility. It is time that we become more vigilant of the safety rules being followed in these vehicles so that no more children's lives are lost in such senseless accidents.