St bus : Good news for students traveling by ST bus! The corporation has made an important decision

Taking serious note of the problems faced by school students during ST bus travel in the state, the transport department has made an important decision. To ensure students receive immediate assistance, the ST Corporation will soon launch a special helpline, and Transport Minister Pratap Sarnayak has indicated readiness to take strict action against depot managers who do not properly plan school bus routes. He provided this information during a visit to the Dharashiv Central Bus Station.

During this meeting, many students were present. They directly presented various shortcomings in school bus management to the minister. Some students complained that the ST bus does not leave on time, while many accused that due to increased crowding in the bus, the driver-conductor does not stop at the stop. Students also expressed dissatisfaction over buses arriving late, being canceled suddenly, and the resulting educational loss. Some students mentioned that in some rural and tribal areas, the 'Human Development Bus' meant for students is being used for other purposes, causing inconvenience to the actual beneficiaries.

Students say that it is expected to reach home within an hour after school or college is over. However, due to difficulties in the bus service, there is a significant delay in getting home. This results in parents scolding them, and sometimes students face punishment due to misunderstandings. Due to such increasing stress, incidents have come to light where some female students have taken extreme decisions like suicide, and this situation is extremely concerning, noted Minister Sarnayak.

The responsibility of providing bus services to students on time during school hours lies with the respective depots. Therefore, the depot managers and supervisory officers will be held directly responsible for any shortcomings. They also clarified that for each day students have been affected, a separate record will be kept, and actions such as suspension or forced leave will be taken against the concerned officers. This has made the need for improvement in school bus services more urgent.

For the safety of students and immediate assistance, the ST Corporation will soon launch a special helpline number. Contact numbers of all 31 divisional controllers in the state will be provided to schools and colleges. Any student, principal, or headmaster can directly contact this number to register a complaint. This step is important to ensure that students receive immediate help in emergency situations and that bus services are operated more responsibly. Efforts are underway to make the ST service more efficient and reliable, giving top priority to the safety and convenience of students, as stated by Sarnayak.