1 week ago
Gurugram Orders School-Bus Safety Measures After Children Stranded
Heavy rain flooded roads in Gurugram and caused traffic jams.
Some school buses carrying hundreds of children became stuck for hours.
The district administration created new safety rules for rainy days.
Traffic police must tell schools which routes are clear, slow, or flooded.
Schools must not send buses through flooded roads or underpasses.
If no safe route exists, children must stay at school with adults until parents are informed.
Every bus must have a staff escort and children can only be handed to parents or approved guardians.
Spare buses and emergency vehicles will be kept ready to help stranded students.
Government agencies will improve drainage and check whether schools are following the rules each week.
Gurugram invoked the Disaster Management Act and issued a school-transport SOP after children were stranded during heavy rain and waterlogging.
Traffic police must classify school routes as Clear, Slow-moving, or Waterlogged and issue updates at 5:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m.
Schools must avoid waterlogged routes, use safe alternatives, or keep students on campus under staff supervision if no safe route exists.
Buses must have staff escorts, drinking water, and safe handovers to parents or authorised guardians; spare Haryana Roadways buses will be kept ready.
Civic agencies must prioritise drainage near schools and bus routes, while weekly compliance reviews will continue through September 30.
- Who
- Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh, the district administration, traffic police, education officials, schools, Haryana Roadways, and civic agencies.
- What
- Authorities issued a Standard Operating Procedure and detailed directions for operating school transport safely during heavy rain and waterlogging.
- Where
- Across Gurugram district, including Gurugram, Sohna, Pataudi, Manesar, Farrukhnagar, and Badshahpur.
- When
- The directions were issued on Tuesday, August 25, take effect immediately, and remain in force through September 30.
- Why
- Heavy rainfall caused severe waterlogging and congestion, leaving schoolchildren stranded because route conditions were not available to schools and drivers in real time.
Key facts
- Legal basis
- The district administration invoked the Disaster Management Act.
- Route classifications
- Traffic police must label routes Clear, Slow-moving, or Waterlogged.
- Scheduled updates
- Reports are due by 5:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., and 12:30 p.m.; flash updates must follow intense rainfall or sudden closures within 30 minutes.
- Information relay
- Education officials must forward traffic updates to schools within 15 minutes.
- Commute coverage
- Traffic personnel, tow vehicles, and police vehicles will be deployed at sensitive locations during 7–9 a.m. and 12–3 p.m.
- Emergency support
- Additional Haryana Roadways buses will be stationed at pre-identified locations to assist students if buses break down or become immobilised.
- Monitoring
- Additional Deputy Commissioner Sonu Bhatt will lead joint review meetings every Friday; weekly compliance reports are also required.
Quotes
Gurugram district administration
The district administration, in its order explaining the causes of the school-bus stranding
“real-time information regarding waterlogging at various points of the city was not available with the school authorities and with the bus drivers at the time of despatch”
indianexpress.com
Uttam Singh
Gurugram Deputy Commissioner and District Disaster Management Authority chairperson
“All schools in the district have been directed not to send school buses through routes declared waterlogged and to use safe alternative routes wherever available. If no safe alternative route is available, students must be kept on school premises under staff supervision and parents must be informed immediately. During heavy rainfall, dispersal of students will also be carried out in phases, taking the waterlogging situation into account.”
theprint.in
Sources
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