Manthan School Bus Catches Fire, Parents Protest
The bus was registered with the RTA, Sangareddy. An assistant motor vehicle inspector in Sangareddy said officials were still tracing the vehicle's registration details.
Hyderabad: Parents of students of Manthan International School at Tellapur near Ramachandrapuram staged a protest outside the school after a school bus caught fire on Tuesday, shortly before lower-class students were to board it.
The incident occurred at 2.35 pm. Parents raised questions over the maintenance of the school buses and alleged that the bus involved in the incident was operating as an air-conditioned vehicle though its invoice showed the model as non-air-conditioned.
The bus was registered with the RTA, Sangareddy. An assistant motor vehicle inspector in Sangareddy said officials were still tracing the vehicle's registration details. “We are trying to trace the registration of the vehicle, but we are sure that the vehicle is air conditioned. The investigation is being done by the police and fire department.”
The school has around 1,000 students and operates about 30 buses on different routes. Parents said they pay around `4 lakh in school fees and between `65,000 and `70,000 annually for air-conditioned bus transport.
Geetha Krishnappa, a parent of two students, said around 60 students were due to board the bus shortly after classes ended at 2.30 pm. “We are fortunate that our children are safe.
Divya Reddy, another parent, questioned the maintenance of the school's buses and referred to an earlier fire involving a bus. “One of the buses caught on fire last January. We don’t know what the management did with that bus.”
She also alleged that students had complained about a smell from the air-conditioning vents in the days before Tuesday's fire and that the issue had been reported to bus attendants.
According to Divya Reddy, students were complaining about the smell emanating from the vent of the bus air-conditioning. “We informed the bus attendants about the issue, but no action was taken.”
According to the Telangana transport department, schools have to appoint a transport committee to inspect school buses every month.
Though Manthan International School had constituted a committee, Krishnappa alleged that the management did not respond to issues raised by parents. She also alleged that staff were not trained to tackle a fire and that the school lacked firefighting equipment.
The district fire officer, Sangareddy, said an investigation into the incident was under way.
