Srinagar district admin to convene meeting with schools, parent associations

Srinagar, Nov 15: The Srinagar district administration will convene a meeting with all the associations of the private schools besides the parents’ associations on Saturday.

The development comes in the wake of the tragic accident on the Tengpora Bypass in Srinagar on Thursday.

Two teenagers lost their lives as their vehicle collided with a tipper on the Bypass.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Srinagar, Bilal Mohiuddin Bhat said he would convene a meeting with all the associations of the schools and parent associations to hold deliberation on how the issue of driving by underage boys could be stopped.

“There will be a discussion on this issue. Besides this, we will go for a mega-level awareness camp in which several departments will be involved. We will try to cover most of the schools,” he said.

The DC Srinagar said that, to begin with, the administration would reach out to the major schools in the city besides all the coaching centres to create awareness among the students and parents not to allow underage boys to drive four-wheelers or two-wheelers.

“We will reach out to the people through social media and mainstream media, hold interactions with people from all walks of life and try to create good awareness among the people. Our initiative will continue for a few months. This message should trickle down to all the parents and other stakeholders that under-age boys should not be allowed to drive a vehicle or ride a two-wheeler,” he said.

The DC, being a District Magistrate and the chairman of the Road Safety Committee, said that they convene meetings and look at things with respect to the Motor Vehicle Act or other things with respect to vehicle or road safety.

“As part of the chairman of the Road Safety Committee, I have tried to reduce the loopholes. I try to make sure that the hazards are eliminated,” he said.

The DC Srinagar while referring to the Tengpora accident said that the authorities would not be able to cater to 100 percent with enforcement.

“Enforcement has its limitations. We will not stop every vehicle and check it up. It is not possible humanly and it will be difficult to implement,” he said.

However, he said that to avoid Tengpora-like episodes, there was a dire need to counsel the parents rather than the young children.

The Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Kashmir, Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari told Greater Kashmir that the tragic accident in Tengpora, involving a Thar vehicle driven by a minor was a heartbreaking reminder of the dangers of negligence by parents and a failure of the collective responsibility in educating youth on road safety.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the families affected by this tragic loss. But the RTO takes responsibility for strict enforcement of licensing laws, and parents or guardians who allow minors to drive will be held fully accountable by the investigating agency invoking Section 199A of MV Act,” he said.

Bukhari said that the Tengpora incident also highlights a gap in both parenting and schooling, as both play a crucial role in instilling responsibility and respect for laws among young individuals.

“We urge the parents to prevent minors from accessing vehicles and commit to intensifying enforcement to avoid such devastating incidents in the future. We request all the stakeholders to work together to protect children and uphold road safety for all,” he said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Traffic (City), Muzaffar Ahmad Shah told Greater Kashmir that the tragedy could have been avoided had the parents not given these under-age boys access to the vehicle.

“The primary responsibility of the parents is that if the child is a minor, you should not give them access to the two-wheeler or four-wheeler,” he said.

Shah urged the parents not to give access to two-wheelers or four-wheelers to minors.

“The Traffic Police Department seizes these cars. We stop them and counsel them. But given the traffic flow, we can't go and talk to each and everyone in one go," he said.

Shah said the Traffic Police Department had been making continuous efforts for a long time by using social media or media.

"Parents should stop the access of underage drivers to four-wheelers. Secondly, the issue in this is how schools allow these minors to come in two-wheelers or four-wheelers despite knowing that the class 10th, 11th, or 12th students are not 18 years of age. Yet, they come to school in two-wheelers or four-wheelers, which has become a normal thing in schools,” he said.

Meanwhile, an official said that the investigations into the case had revealed that it was a racing competition between Thar Jeeps and the one which escaped from the accident already has four challans.

“The owner of the vehicle was summoned twice for counselling as well,” the official said.