Doubtful method but result achieved
There are safety measures stipulated in the state's school bus safety policy. Yet there were many school buses in Navi Mumbai which were not implementing these measures. Now this was a serious issue and due to this adamant stand taken by some school bus owners, the politics surrounding the issue was becoming more and more serious. It was the negligence displayed by some school bus owners that had provoked Maharashtra Navnirman Party (MNS), and hence some of its members went ahead and formed a 'flying squad' which did the work of pulling up school buses to perform spot inspections of safety provisions and hauling the RTO officers to the spot if they were found missing.
But the bus owners were not happy with this drive undertaken by MNS. They threatened to retaliate if the drive wasn't called off. MNS also invited the wrath of many school authorities and teachers after the way in which its party workers stormed into DAV school in Nerul, vandalized the school premises, and roughed up the prinicipal. These workers had to bear the brunt of the angry teachers, who thrashed them till they beat a hasty retreat. All these dramas had occurred over school bus issue.
There were people who questioned as to why MNS was treating school bus issue so seriously? Both school bus owners and teachers were provoked by MNS' self-proclaimed flying squads, which often halted school buses and inspected the interiors to check whether safety norms were being followed. These workers were zealously noting down plate numbers of errant buses, and forcing the Vashi RTO officers to take strict action against them.
This drive had made school bus owners unhappy. They were so irked that they had termed this kind of vigilantism illegal and warned the MNS to call off the squad. The argument of the school bus owners was that the guidelines issued by the state government are complex, and difficult to implement immediately. So they had asked the government for some time to implement the policy. In fact, the government was also mulling over the feasibility of some of the complicated rules.
By conducting this drive, MNS was certainly not taking the law into its hand. This was a wrong allegation made against it by some people. It is true that it is the RTO's responsibility to look into the implementation of safety measures. Maybe MNS was doing this for publicity, and their stunt was having an adverse effect on school bus business. Even though the school bus owners call this an illegal drive by MNS and threatened to take serious action the fact was RTO could not ignore the MNS workers' complaints about school buses, as any individual was free to lodge complaints. Whenever a complaint is lodged, RTO is forced to dispatch an official to the spot to check for violations and take strict action since school bus safety is a very sensitive issue.
MNS had refused to call off its campaign. It had the right to do that. Their idea of ensuring the safety of school children in the city was a noble one even though it is affecting some people's business. What should be appreciated is that today almost all school bus owners are quietly implementing safety measures and guidelines issued by the state government.
So one can say that although MNS had adopted a doubtful method the final result was achieved. MNS could do what RTO could not.
There are safety measures stipulated in the state's school bus safety policy. Yet there were many school buses in Navi Mumbai which were not implementing these measures. Now this was a serious issue and due to this adamant stand taken by some school bus owners, the politics surrounding the issue was becoming more and more serious. It was the negligence displayed by some school bus owners that had provoked Maharashtra Navnirman Party (MNS), and hence some of its members went ahead and formed a 'flying squad' which did the work of pulling up school buses to perform spot inspections of safety provisions and hauling the RTO officers to the spot if they were found missing.
But the bus owners were not happy with this drive undertaken by MNS. They threatened to retaliate if the drive wasn't called off. MNS also invited the wrath of many school authorities and teachers after the way in which its party workers stormed into DAV school in Nerul, vandalized the school premises, and roughed up the prinicipal. These workers had to bear the brunt of the angry teachers, who thrashed them till they beat a hasty retreat. All these dramas had occurred over school bus issue.
There were people who questioned as to why MNS was treating school bus issue so seriously? Both school bus owners and teachers were provoked by MNS' self-proclaimed flying squads, which often halted school buses and inspected the interiors to check whether safety norms were being followed. These workers were zealously noting down plate numbers of errant buses, and forcing the Vashi RTO officers to take strict action against them.
This drive had made school bus owners unhappy. They were so irked that they had termed this kind of vigilantism illegal and warned the MNS to call off the squad. The argument of the school bus owners was that the guidelines issued by the state government are complex, and difficult to implement immediately. So they had asked the government for some time to implement the policy. In fact, the government was also mulling over the feasibility of some of the complicated rules.
By conducting this drive, MNS was certainly not taking the law into its hand. This was a wrong allegation made against it by some people. It is true that it is the RTO's responsibility to look into the implementation of safety measures. Maybe MNS was doing this for publicity, and their stunt was having an adverse effect on school bus business. Even though the school bus owners call this an illegal drive by MNS and threatened to take serious action the fact was RTO could not ignore the MNS workers' complaints about school buses, as any individual was free to lodge complaints. Whenever a complaint is lodged, RTO is forced to dispatch an official to the spot to check for violations and take strict action since school bus safety is a very sensitive issue.
MNS had refused to call off its campaign. It had the right to do that. Their idea of ensuring the safety of school children in the city was a noble one even though it is affecting some people's business. What should be appreciated is that today almost all school bus owners are quietly implementing safety measures and guidelines issued by the state government.
So one can say that although MNS had adopted a doubtful method the final result was achieved. MNS could do what RTO could not.
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