VIJAYAWADA: The Krishna district Road Transport Authority (RTA) has decided to keep a vigil on autorickshaws ferrying schoolchildren over and above the permissible limit. The main objective of the drive is to ensure safe transportation of students to schools. As part of this, the department would shortly be taking up a drive in the city to check the fitness of autorickshaws as it does annually in respect of school buses. According to RTA sources, the city has around 800 to 1,000 autorickshaws and 40 percent of them ferry schoolchildren.
So far, autos have been exempted from any scrutiny of authorities for safety as the main focus has always been on school buses and vans. As a result, most of the autorickshaws are ferrying more number of students in gross violation of safety norms endangering the lives of children. When contacted, deputy transport commissioner (DTC) E Meera Prasad said that over the years, the department has accorded priority to checking only school buses and vans for fitness. Following growing complaints from the public over schoolchildren being crammed into autos by drivers, the department has decided to tighten the noose by launching a drive in the city and elsewhere shortly.
‘’As per the Motor Vehicle Act, autorickshaws are not permitted to carry more than five children or three passengers in case of commercial operations. The rules also prescribe installation of iron grills on both sides of the vehicle to prevent schoolchildren from falling out. The rules also mandate inscription of ‘school auto’ on the vehicle’’, he said. To check the menace, the DTC has also roped in principals of schools to sensitise the parents on the the dangers of autos carrying students over and above the permissible limits.