School bus crackdown in Telangana rolls on; 165 cases registered Statewide on June 16

Continuing to crack the whip on alleged cases of violations of educational institution buses (EIB), the Transport Department on Tuesday booked 165 cases against such vehicles across the State.

The department embarked on a drive, a part of a larger move aimed at improving road safety, following the reopening of schools and colleges, even as authorities revealed action had been taken against vehicles belonging to 245 educational institutions and that 60 buses operating without valid fitness certificates had been seized since yesterday.

According to data shared by the department, Hyderabad recorded the highest number of alleged violations on June 16, with 49 cases registered, followed by Medchal-Malkajgiri district with 21, Rangareddy with 19, and Sangareddy with 12. Cases were also reported from Hanumakonda, Jangaon, Nalgonda, Khammam and Nirmal, among other districts. The Statewide total stood at 165 cases.

Officials said enforcement teams checked vehicles operating without fitness certificates, buses carrying students beyond the permitted seating capacity and those failing to comply with prescribed safety standards.

The department said the drive included verification of fitness certificates, permits, insurance and Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, apart from checking whether drivers possessed valid licences. Officials also inspected the availability of safety equipment such as first-aid boxes, fire extinguishers and emergency exits, besides assessing the condition of brakes.

The enforcement drive comes amid concerns over the large number of educational institution buses yet to obtain mandatory fitness clearances. According to the department, Telangana has 25,987 EIBs, of which only 23,204 currently possess valid fitness certificates. The remaining 2,783 vehicles have been directed to obtain fitness certification at the earliest.

According to official data, there are 3,215 schools in Hyderabad district alone with as many as 9,24,946 students. Similarly, Medchal-Malkajgiri has 2,462 schools with 8,18,615 students.

Data regarding the number of schools running EIB to pick up and drop students was, however, immediately not available.