Sir - The school bus mishap in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, claimed at least 30 lives. Among the casualties, 27 were schoolchildren ("27 children killed as school bus plunges into gorge in Himachal Pradesh", April 9).

The tragic incident has once again highlighted the need to address certain problems related to school transport. Issues concerning safety of children often do not receive the amount of attention that they should. I think it is time the state governments set up a separate department to monitor school transport.

The worst nightmare for any parent is to lose his or her child. No one should have to go through that experience.

This refers to the editorial, “Killer school buses thrive” (January 21). The school bus mishap in Uttar Pradesh that claimed the lives of 25 children and injured over 40, is very painful. The ill-fated bus in this case was being run in flagrant violation of rules and regulations. In this ghastly accident, the school concerned can't absolve itself of its responsibility. It is the duty of the school to ensure the safe travel of the students and follow the district administration's guidelines.

This tragic accident has once again highlighted the urgency of addressing issues related to safety of school transport. The incident must propel the Government to make sure that transporters rigidly follow safety guidelines. Safety of school transport is neither a priority for any Government nor does the media take these issues seriously. School buses, mini buses, autos etc, continuously violate norms with impunity. Those who break the law, deserves no mercy.

THE recent tragic accident involving Indian School children seems to be negligence on the part of the transporting company. Accidents are always due to some sort of carelessness, and the offenders should be punished.The Indian School authorities are now taking the opportunity to cover their inefficiencies in transportation and converting it into a monopoly situation.

I used to send my children to the Indian School by their bus; they were charging Dh 100 per child per month on an ordinary bus, without air-conditioning. I had to accompany my children for about half a kilometer to enable them to catch the bus. In the summer the children were returning with burnt faces and their clothes damp from perspiration. Once they got home, it took them more than an hour to recover from their tiredness.I changed to a private bus; the children are now collected from the doorstep, the bus is air – conditioned and the children return home full of energy. The private bus company charges only Dh.80 per month.

Instead of avoiding private transport companies, it would be better if the school developed some type of control over the transporting companies, by having them register with the school.

Moreover, the school can keep a regulation on load, speed and so on. Transport companies which violate any such regulations can be removed from the schools recommended list. I am sure all parents will be happy to co-operate with such a system.

Friday’s accident involving a school bus and a BMTC bus once again highlights the urgency of addressing issues related to safety of school transport. Strict instructions must be issued to BMTC to rein in its drivers as they violate norms with impunity. Parents, school managements, public and traffic police should work together and make school transport safe. School managements transport safe.

School managements should train their bus drivers on driving safely and handling emergencies, like accidents.

Your paper has done us a great service by reporting the case of accident of the bus ferrying school children as murder. it is a highly shocking incident and what is of most Concern is that the driver was reportedly drunk. The report serves as aft eye-opener, not only for parents, but also for the school management and the police. A homicide case should be filed against the driver and the owner of the bus.

It is high time authorities formed stringent laws for effective school transport service so that such accidents are prevented. And they should act strictly against violators of, such norms.

Kudos to Deccan Chronicle for carrying the report Back on risky ride to School (Sept. 20) This is a sensitive issue involving young lives which is constantly overlooked by the authorities. Auto-rickshaw drivers who ferry children to schools, pay no attention to their safety and are more concerned about reaching their destinations as fast as possible. They endanger the lives of these children being carried, as many of them as possible in the cramped space, along with their massive schoolbags.

Those who break the law, deserve no mercy and should be punished mercilessly so that other drivers stop overloading their vehicles for the sake of making a few extra bucks.

Sir, This refers to '30 students injured,, man killed in school bus crash' (DH, Jan 18). How many deaths will it take for the government to wake up and enforce rules regarding school transport? Only last month a school bus met with an accident because of a drunken driver killing one student. Now, this accident. Such accidents keep happening and are forgotten.

The transport department should chart out stringent guidelines for effective school transport so that such things do not repeat. There is a need to act strictly against violators to safeguard the lives of children. Further, schools managements should be held responsible for any eventuality.

This is with reference to the March 16 article about the sad death of young architectural student Sushmita Patil in a road accident. Today the major causes of road accidents are negligent and rash driving especially among youngsters, hence parents, educational institutes and social organisations should council their children who are behind the wheels or driving about the danger posed by negligent and rash driving.

The police should rigidly enforce traffic rules and deploy more number of police personnel on outer roads to stop these rash driving by youngsters. Also stationing more ambulances on these outer roads can help save lives.

Sir, I was extremely shocked by the tragic death of four pedestrians in Indira Nagar on Saturday (Missing footpaths, rising mishaps, Jan. 26). In fact, this is a replay of the Delhi BMW hit-and-run case where the driver ran away leaving behind his vehicle at the accident spot instead of rushing the victims to hospital. Today, murders are sensationalized but deaths in road accidents have not been taken seriously by the media and th6 government. The city lacks safe pedestrian crossings and foot-paths. Huge funds are spent on high budgeted projects like road widening, asphalting, construction of underpasses and flyovers but the problems of pedestrians are not addressed effectively.

It is time for the authorities to look into the matter and construct under-passes, footpaths and pedestrian crossings and save the lives of people.

Sir,This refer to Man crushed to death between buses(DH April 25) Recently there has been a spurt in road accidents, especially by BMTC/KSRTC buses.

The Authorities concerned should show zero tolerance towards such behaviour of drivers. Drivers tend to become careless and inconsiderate towards pedestrians and small vehicles plying on roads since their vehicles are stronger than others and also due to legal support from governmnet agencies.

This has reference to ‘Jail term, higher fines for traffic law offenders’ (March 2). It’s a commendable move by the government to amend the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) and bring in stringent provisions of tough penalties for traffic violators.

Due to lack of tough laws the road accident trajectory in the country has been shooting up and showing no signs of descent. The existing measures have not worked as an effective deterrent against erring drivers. The proposed amendments of steep enhancement of fine and quantum of punishment for traffic violators, which covers drunken driving, speeding, not wearing helmet and seat belts and use of mobile phones while driving, should result in better traffic management in the country. However, these amendments may not act as deterrent for those who do not have any trouble paying such fines and getting bail.

The government should make the procedure for issuing a driving license stringent and enhance compensation from Rs one lakh to Rs two lakh in hit and run cases. The media and social organisations also need to create awareness in the society regarding safe driving.

The tragic incident wherein a schoolgirl drowned in a pool has come as a shocker for the parents of all schoolchildren, a Better safety regulations during school excursions are of a great concern. The incident was yet another example of the pathetic standards of safety at such places. This was not an isolated incident as such incidents have occurred earlier too. Every time such a thing happens, the media reports it promptly, but the issue soon fades out from the people's memory. To avoid such incidents, the schools should avoid taking children to holiday resorts. Instead, the students can be taken to a museum or zoo. The fact that death at the pool happened has nothing to do with lack of laws or regulations, the issue is their implementation . The schools need to ensure that children safety is not taken for granted as even a minor lapse may result in loss of life.