Ahmedabad: From Tuesday, school rickshaws and vans across Gujarat will be on strike, demanding expedited vehicle Fitness Certificates and permit processes. This decision by the School Transport Association arose from a state-wide meeting in Ahmedabad. The strikes of school rickshaws and vans in this regard were already witnessed in Surenranagar and Khergam this week.

The RTO has declared it will begin surprise checks for valid fitness certificates and passing permits starting from the 18th. In response, the School Transport Association has decided that school – going vehicles will not operate from that date onward. The association asserts that unless their demands for an extension are met, they will continue to withhold services.

During the meeting, it was decided to request a two to three-month extension from the state government for completing the permit process of school vans and rickshaws. The association members said that following the Rajkot fire incident, the government responded abruptly by allowing only one week time to obtain the permits, prompting this demand for a longer time frame of two to three months.

Currently, out of 15,000 school vehicles in Ahmedabad and 50,000 across the state, only approximately 800 vehicles in Ahmedabad have obtained permits so far. Dharmendra Brahmbhatt, president of the School Transport Association, stated that despite making repeated representations over the past year, their efforts to get permits for school transport vehicles have been stalled due to a lack of appointments. DeshGujarat