She and her classmates were anxious, crying and unsure of what to do,” said Ajay Pal on Tuesday, a day after a routine commute home turned into a nightmare for dozens of school-going children and their parents after several buses were stranded in severe waterlogging caused by heavy rainfall. “My six year-old niece was stranded in her school bus for almost six hours.
In response, the Gurugram district administration on Tuesday issued a comprehensive set of measures to ensure the safe movement of school buses during the monsoon, including route status reports on days with adverse weather, real-time updates on waterlogging, a staff escort, and adequate drinking water, among others.
Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Sonu Bhatt has been assigned overall monitoring responsibility and will conduct joint reviews every Friday with the traffic police, education department, GMDA, Haryana Roadways and MCG. Starting immediately, Gurugram Traffic Police will provide schools with real-time updates on waterlogging along school routes. During heavy rain or weather alerts, additional Haryana Roadways buses will be kept ready at designated locations. These will be used to evacuate students from school buses that are stranded or break down in waterlogged areas. Officials will monitor identified waterlogging points during and after rainfall.
On days of heavy rain or weather warnings, status reports will be issued at 5.30 am, 10.30 am and 12.30 pm. In cases of intense rainfall or sudden blockage of a route, a flash update will have to be issued within 30 minutes.
A comprehensive protocol has been set for days that see intense rainfall like Monday, according to an order from the DC.
