MARGAO
Moments after the Bal Rath school bus carrying school students turned turtle on the National Highway, 66 at Balli on Thursday morning, the opposition took on the government for the negligence, demanding an safety audit of the school buses ferrying students across the state.
Leader of the Opposition, Yuri Alemao along with Quepem MLA Altone D’Costa, party president Amit Patkar, party leader Capt Viriato Fernandes and Goa Forward leader Durgadas Kamat demanded an immediate safety audit of the Bal Rath school buses and the educational institutions.
The Opposition leader said the accident only exposes the complete neglect of the BJP Government on safety & security of the students in Goa. Event-obsessed BJP Government headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is playing with the lives of the innocent students, charged the Leader of the Opposition.
Taking serious note of the accident, Yuri immediately called the South Goa Collector and the Health Authorities to ensure immediate medical aid to the injured students. He also visited the students at the South Goa District Hospital.
“I demand that Chief Minister immediately order safety audits of all the buses transporting students to various schools and colleges across the State. The government has failed to conduct safety audits of 663 schools out of 1,315 schools in the State, leaving the fate of the students at the mercy of God. Government has also failed to maintain the buses transporting students, claimed Yuri.
He added: ‘There are 316 aided Institutions in Goa with 409 Balrath Buses. Similarly Government has provided 87 Kadamba Buses to the students of Government High Schools and Higher Secondary Schools. I doubt whether there is any system in place like Tracking Devices, Panic Buttons, Emergency Contact Numbers etc. which are much needed during emergency situations like today's accident. Even the credentials of the drivers and conductors on each bus need to be checked. The RTO and Traffic Police should be extra vigilant during the school timings to control rash and negligent driving, pointed Yuri.
The Opposition leader hoped this unfortunate incident will be an eye opener for the BJP Government which is completely obsessed with events by putting the lives of the citizens at risk.
Goa Forward leader Durgadas Kamat demanded that Chief Minister conduct a safety audit and direct PWD to install crash barriers across the state whenever needed, especially in accident-prone zones. “The government has to conduct immediate audit of the Balrath buses across the state as we have learnt that steering of the bus got stuck. Balrath buses are not maintained properly”, he added.
