The district administration today launched an extensive drive as part of the statewide action to check the roadworthiness of buses and other vehicles used for ferrying schoolchildren.
The action came in the wake of the Sangrur incident in which four schoolchildren were charred to death after the van carrying them caught fire on Saturday.
About 50 vehicles were challaned and 18 impounded during the drive by various SDMs in their respective areas to check the roadworthiness of school vehicles in Mohali district.
Giving details, Girish Dayalan, Deputy Commissioner, said the district administration undertook the drive as a mission to ensure the safety of schoolchildren. He said nobody would be allowed to play with the lives of children. He said the drive was undertaken in Mohali, Dera Bassi and Kharar. Reginal Transport Authority (RTA) Sukhwinder Kumar checked 25 vehicles of which 11 were impounded while 14 were challaned. Kharar SDM Himanshu Jain challaned four vehicles, while ATO Simran Sra challaned 14 vehicles and impounded four. Mohali SDM Jagdeep Sehgal challaned 11 vehicles while one was impounded. Dera Bassi SDM Kuldeep Bawa impounded two vehicles and challaned seven. The traffic police also undertook a challan drive, he said.
The Safe School Vahan Scheme Committee also checked vehicles being used by schools in the district and asked the school managements to ensure that the vehicles used by them for ferrying schoolchildren were in a good condition with the attendants having the knowledge to properly use the safety equipment, which is a must in school vehicles.