Movadi Cross Accident: 2 Years Later Dist Administration Still Silent on Safety Measures for School Children
Udupi: The 21st of June 2016 was a dark day in the history of the district. Eight little angels – who were on the way to school – lost their lives in a ghastly accident on National Highway 66, at Movadi Cross near Trasi.
Accident Spot
On that fateful day, eight children were killed in a collision between an overcrowded Omni van transporting school children and a bus at Kundapur. The deceased children were students of Don Bosco English Medium School in Trasi, namely Clarissa Olivera (6), Calista Olivera (13), Ancita Olivera (6), Nikitha (13), Alvita (9), Roystan (5), Delvin Dias (5) and Ananya (6).
After the accident, not only the district but also the state mourned the death of the children. But even though two years have passed since the accident, the administration has not taken any significant safety measure near the spot of the accident, the Movadi Cross. The district administration had held many rounds of meetings on taking action against illegal school vehicles after the accident but no viable results came out of those meetings. Annamalai, who was the then SP of Udupi district, conducted a monthly drive to check school vehicles across the district. After he left Udupi district, neither the police nor the RTO showed any interest in carrying out checks against the school vehicles violating the rules.
Though many incidents occur frequently on sections of the National Highway, including the one near Movadi Cross, the concerned department has not implemented signboards or any other safety measures.
Earlier, the district administration used to call meetings with school principals and vehicle drivers to disseminate information about the precautionary and safety measures while operating school vehicles. But no such meeting has been conducted this year by the district administration or the Police Department. The public alleges that the district administration is negligent towards the safety of children. Several buses, vans, and auto-rickshaws, that ferry students to schools are not only overloaded but even lack various safety features. Parents also feel that a lot more needs to be done to ensure the safety of children.
The Police Department is regularly checking buses and autos. Notices have also been issued whenever any lapses are found. The traffic officials have appealed to the parents to avoid sending their children to schools in overloaded vans and auto-rickshaws just to save a few bucks.
Instead of just taking stern action after an accident, there is a need to take precautions before an accident occurs. The district administration should provide proper guidelines to school heads and vehicle drivers. The authorities should first ensure that overloaded vehicles ferrying students should not be allowed to ply on the city roads, says the general public.