RTA officials racing against time to conduct tests on school buses in Mahbubnagar district

​Mahbubnagar: With just 20 days left for the next academic year, the officials of the Road Transport Authority (RTA) in Mahbubnagar district is running against time to conduct the “efficiency standard tests” on more than 1,040 school buses across the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district. 

As the RTA officials are planning to begin the standards and efficiency testing on all school buses from May 16, the exercise to complete the process seems to be a herculean task. The schools are scheduled to reopen in the second week of June. 

However, this year the State government has decided to reopen all the schools, both private and public, from June 1. The RTA officials have less than 20 days to complete the herculean task of testing more than 1,040 school buses under various RTA centres in Mahbubnagar, Wanaparthy, Gadwal and Nagarkurnool districts. 

With the school academic year is going to start from June 1, the RTA officials have failed to make note of this and have shown their lackadaisical attitude to plan the school bus efficiency testing drive at least one month before the academic year begins. 

As there are only 20 days left for the academic year to begin and the RTA yet to begin its task of conducting working standards and efficiency tests on all school buses in the district, people are expressing doubts whether the RTA authorities will be able to complete task in time effectively or will pass it by pushing the drive in a hurry-burry way. 

After conducting the efficiency testing of all the school buses, the RTA gives a fitness certification which will be valid for one year. The school buses whose fitness tests were conducted last year are bound to expire by May 15. This year as the school academic is advanced by a week. The RTA officials should have also had their scheduled their fitness checking dates in accordance to the school department so that it would facilitate the RTA to complete the drive effectively in time. 

While accepting that the task is challenging to complete the fitness test of all the school buses in the given period is impossible, Ms Mamatha, District Transport Commissioner, who is also given additional charge as Joint Transport Commissioner, said that she would take the matter with government and try to see that the challenging task is completed in time.