Feb 18, Kathmandu- A special inspection campaign has been launched in the Kathmandu Valley to increase monitoring of school buses after vehicles carrying students started getting into accidents. Two people, including the driver, died when a Junkiri school bus crashed in Dakshinkali, Kathmandu, on Magh 10.

Similarly, three students died when a bus carrying students of Satyasai School, who were returning from a forest festival, met with an accident in Shankharapur, Kathmandu on Magh 30. More than 50 students were injured in the accident.

There have been reports of school bus accidents in other districts outside the valley in recent times. After the incidents started happening in the valley, the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office has increased its surveillance on school buses and launched a special inspection campaign, said the office's chief, Senior Superintendent of Police Binod Ghimire. He said, "We had been monitoring them before, but after the continuous incidents in Kathmandu, we have increased the surveillance. During the surveillance, it was found that school buses were being driven while intoxicated, and action is being taken."

He said that since the police alone cannot monitor, it is necessary for school administrators and teachers to also pay attention. He urged school administrators to pay special attention to this as they can get drunk while eating a picnic. Following two school bus accidents in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has urged for full compliance with the School Bus Directive 2074 BS issued in Nepal.

The ministry has also requested the concerned ministries, traffic police and local administration to issue a notice and ensure compliance with the prescribed standards, monitor, find out the truth about the accident and take action against the culprits. On that basis, the traffic police has increased surveillance. “We have increased extensive surveillance, we are looking into drunkenness (drowning), drug use (drowning), vehicle engine problems,” said Superintendent of Police Sanjay Bahadur Raut, spokesperson for the Valley Traffic. “We have found people driving while drowsy and drowsy, cases have already been filed against some, the campaign is ongoing.”

He said that all the units under his command have been instructed to pay special attention. He also said that all the 78 traffic units in the valley have been instructed to conduct a special inspection campaign on school buses. The inspection campaign is mostly focused around the opening and closing times of schools and on holidays, at the forest picnic points and around schools. Raut also said that if a school bus is seen anywhere on the road, it has been asked to conduct the necessary tests and monitor whether the driver has been drunk or not.