School bus mafia

Sir: I would like to share with readers that after a Karachi police campaign against violators of school bus safety regulations, the school transport mafia has decided to move the courts against the safety guidelines. I have recently been told by the school bus owner who picks up my children that all school transport owners had decided to challenge the school bus safety regulations laid down by the Sindh Transport Authority.

Meanwhile, they have also decided to run their vehicles on petrol till they get a stay order against the safety regulations. For this purpose, they have also stepped up their fund raising efforts and my school van owner even came to my home at an odd hour to collect the fee in advance. I have also been told that the school van fee would soon be raised if the vehicles would be run on petrol. First, who would ensure that their vehicles are being run on petrol and not on CNG or LNG? This could only be ensured if the CNG/LNG kits are removed from school buses, which is also one of the safety guidelines. Then, these school transporters are already charging van fee on the basis of petrol or diesel while plying their vehicles on CNG, which is a much cheaper fuel.
Second, victimised parents are being made to pay in advance so that safety guidelines could be challenged in a court of law. Considering our judicial system, which takes decades to decide cases, it is not difficult to think what would be the outcome if a petition is filed by the school transport mafia challenging the safety guidelines. The opponents of the military courts might now get an idea why they are needed instead of ordinary civilian courts.
I also wonder why the Rangers should not take this school transport mafia to task and present them at an anti-terrorism or a military court. I say this because we have lost several innocent children in CNG/LNG cylinder explosions or fires in school bus incidents. Is not this school transport mafia’s blackmailing and putting our children’s lives in danger for their financial gains a form of terrorism? Will anybody help parents to get rid of this money-minting ruthless mafia?
JAMSHAID AHMAD
Karachi