Special Safety Drive: Fine Of Over Rs 4 Lakh Imposed On School Bus In Odisha’s Koraput

Koraput: On the first day of the week-long special drive by the Transport department to check safety parameters of the vehicles transporting students to schools, a fine of Rs 4 lakh was imposed on a bus in the district on Wednesday.

During inspection of the vehicles carrying schoolstudents in Semiliguda town, traffic inspector Raja Narayan Swain stopped a bus of Netaji English Medium School on National Highway at Netaji Nagar. On checking the document, Swain found that the bus did not have necessary permit, fitness certificate and even valid registration number.

The inspector seized the bus and imposed a total fine of Rs 4,01,500 on the spot. While the penalty of Rs 3,80,000 was slapped for violation of tax, Rs 21,500 was imposed for not having fitness certificate.

A total of 235 challans were issued on the first day of the special drive across the state. As many as 173 vehicles were detected without valid fitness certificate while 85 of them did not have permit, the State Transport Authority (STA) said in a tweet.

While 98 vehicles did not have insurance, 51 were detected without PUC certificate, 25 did not pay tax and 59 drivers did not have driving licence. Two buses have been seized in Rourkela.

Joint Commissioner, Transport, Road Safety, Sanjay Biswal had on Tuesday announced about the drive and different criteria that the vehicles will have to meet. All RTOs have been instructed to inspect every school bus. The drive will continue for a week from Wednesday except Sunday.

Also Read: Week-Long Special Drive To Check School Bus Safety In Odisha From Tomorrow – odishabytes