SC lays down norms for school buses

NEW DELHI, Nov 21: The Supreme Court today laid down detailed norms for the appointment of drivers for school buses. The court also directe...

NEW DELHI, Nov 21: The Supreme Court today laid down detailed norms for the appointment of drivers for school buses. The court also directed the authorities to remove hindrances and hoardings coming in the way of smooth flow of traffic.

The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justices J S Verma, B N Kirpal and V N Khare yesterday took suo motu notice of the Wazirabad bus tragedy while hearing a petition on pollution control.

The bench gave a dressing down to the Delhi Chief Secretary, P V Jayakrishanan, Police Commissioner T R Kakkar, and Transport Commissioner Kiran Dhingra and ordered the officials to give a detailed report within 24 hours on what steps were being taken to prevent tragedies like the one that happened at Wazirabad.

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After hearing the official submission, the court, in a significant ruling, ordered that all obstructions in the way of smooth flow of traffic should be removed forthwith irrespective any pending court orders.

The Delhi government and its agencies were directed to enfore the following norms with respect to school buses anmd drivers:

*All school bus drivers will be in special uniform. A photogrpah of the driver will be displayed in the bus.

*Drivers with a minimum of 10 years of experience will be hired for school buses.

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*No driver who has been challaned for a major violation will be permitted to drive a school bus.

*Drivers with more that two minor offences will be disqualified.The Delhi Government has been directed to submit a compliance report by December 8. The matter will now come up for hearing on December 9.

The court also ordered that all heavy vehicles in Delhi and the National Capital Region should be fitted with speed governors. All premit holders of heavy vehicles will be required to furnish details about the driver’s address.

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

Amid Mahagathbandhan crisis, RJD unveils list of 143, drops 36 MLAs, focuses on ‘M-Y’

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The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

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