Tomin J Thachankary forms special squads for school students

Kochi: The motor vehicles department (MVD) will soon deploy special squads during school hours to ensure that students get an assured and safe journey in private buses.

Transport commissioner Tomin J Thachankary in his new directive has asked all regional transport officers (RTOs) to take strict action against employees and owners of private buses if they refuse to take students and allow travel concessions.

“A motor vehicle inspector or an assistant MVI should be deployed by every regional office to continuously monitor commuting issues faced by students," the directive said.

“The officers should ensure that all the educational institution buses (EIBs) have door attenders and that they help students cross roads if necessary,” the circular said.

It has asked schools to appoint a teacher as the traffic nodal officer to co-ordinate with the MVD officer. "A list of names of students travelling in the vehicle and the contact number of their parents should be pasted on all EIBs.