The annual picnic of around 200 students of Government Higher Secondary School, Elamakkara, to Ooty in four tourist buses was cancelled on Thursday morning after Motor Vehicles department (MVD) personnel found that the buses had not obtained the mandatory inspection certificates from the office of the Ernakulam Regional Transport Officer (RTO).
Sources in the department said operators of the buses, each of which had 49 seats, had not obtained inspection certificates although the school authorities had informed the RTO of Thursday’s tour. Moreover, it was found that the buses did not conform to fitness norms prescribed by the MVD to operate as contract carriages.
“Once the application is made, we insist on such buses being produced at the RTO office for inspection since many operators add laser lights and high-decibel music systems that are prohibited apart from other illegal alterations after being produced for the annual fitness inspection, to woo picnic-goers. On preliminary inspection after the buses were seized and brought to the office at Kakkanad, we found many technical and other problems with the buses. Notices will be served on the operators and fitness certificates cancelled, if need arose,” they added.
An MVD official confided that there had been instances of unscrupulous bus owners and tour operators even faking the seal of the Joint RTO to convince school managements that their buses have inspection certificates.
Meanwhile, a teacher at the school said the principal had submitted details of the buses and their drivers to the RTO well in advance. “But bus owners and tour operators who had been tasked with arranging the tour misled us into believing that the buses had been produced for inspection, and that they were in possession of the certificates. They had sent us all other papers, including the contract carriage permit they had. Ultimately, the 200 students fell victim to the operators’ irresponsibility,” she added.
Following inspection at the RTO office, a host of rule violations were detected in the buses, MVD sources said. They included absence of vehicle location tracking device, detached speed limiting device, dysfunctional lights, curtains, laser lights and speakers installed in violation of norms, improper seats, extra wiring kits without insulation to power illegally installed lights, absence of driver seat belt, missing windshield wipers, improper display of registration number, illegal sticker works on the body, non-renewal of pollution under control certificate, and fire extinguishers whose validity expired months ago.
In this circumstance, their fitness certificate was cancelled, citing that they are not road-worthy. These buses would have to be produced before the RTO office within 14 days to do fresh fitness test. Likewise, notice would be issued to the drivers prior to suspending their driving licence for steering buses that do not adhere to safety and fitness norms, they added.
