Agra: Officials of the state transport department has decided to issue warning notices to 120 school buses which are running without a fitness certificate in the city. The department had made it mandatory for all school buses and vans to get fitness certificates last month.Regional inspector, Sudhir Kumar, said, “We had issued notices to 160 school buses operating in the city to get fitness certificates before the new academic session begins next month. However, we found that 120 of these vehicles were running without a fitness certificate.”Regional transport officer, Vijay Kumar, said, “Schools should be strict about the safety of students. Buses which have not undergone fitness tests will not be allowed to ply on the roads from July 1. We will also set-up fitness camps exclusively for school buses and vans.”The Central Board of Secondary Education had, on February 23, issued comprehensive guidelines on safety of children in school buses following the Etah accident which claimed the lives of 25 people, including 18 school children. The Board has made speed governors with 40 km per hour, GPS and CCTV mandatory for school buses.Directions were also given for school vans to switch from LPG-kits to CNG but only 250 LPG-run vans here have made the move. “School authorities will be held responsible for not adhering to the norms if vans are found running on LPG cylinders,” said an official of the transport department.“We will soon start a drive to check autorickshaws ferrying students to the school too,” Kumar said.

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