Gujrat aftermath: Parents push for ‘fit’ vehicles
Tragic death of 26 students and teachers in a van incident in Gujrat has sparks fears among parents.
Men stand around a burnt-out school bus, after a gas cylinder on it exploded killing seventeen children, on the outskirts of Gujrat. PHOTO: REUTERS
KARACHI:
The tragic death of 26 students and teachers in a van incident in Gujrat has sparked fears among parents, who demanded that measures be taken to ensure safe transport for their children.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, All Private Schools Management Association (APSMA) chairperson Syed Khalid Shah said that the government needs to get school vans inspected and no vehicle should be allowed to operate without a fitness certificate.
He also asked the school administration to award contracts to only those transporters who have a fitness certificate. Shah also said that many transporters who have LPG and CNG cylinders do not properly maintain their kits and use petrol price to work out fares. He said this practice is extremely dangerous and asked the traffic police to check the fitness of such vehicles. Sixteen children died on Saturday when a school van exploded in Gujrat.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2013.
The tragic death of 26 students and teachers in a van incident in Gujrat has sparked fears among parents, who demanded that measures be taken to ensure safe transport for their children.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, All Private Schools Management Association (APSMA) chairperson Syed Khalid Shah said that the government needs to get school vans inspected and no vehicle should be allowed to operate without a fitness certificate.
He also asked the school administration to award contracts to only those transporters who have a fitness certificate. Shah also said that many transporters who have LPG and CNG cylinders do not properly maintain their kits and use petrol price to work out fares. He said this practice is extremely dangerous and asked the traffic police to check the fitness of such vehicles. Sixteen children died on Saturday when a school van exploded in Gujrat.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 28th, 2013.