Punjab: School buses collide head-on in Kharar due to fog; children injured.

Punjab: Two school buses collided head-on in Kharar on Thursday morning amidst dense fog, resulting in minor injuries to two school bus drivers and several students. The injured received first aid at the scene, while the area was thrown into chaos for a short time before passersby came to their aid. The buses belonged to Delhi Public School and St. Ezra International School. Eyewitnesses said both buses were badly damaged in the accident. Dense fog has been prevailing in the Tricity area during the mornings and late evenings for the past two days. The Meteorological Department has predicted similar conditions in the coming days. Due to the biting cold, the Punjab government has announced the closure of schools at the end of December. As in previous years, December has seen a surge in road accidents due to low visibility caused by fog. Despite these recurring incidents, the government has yet to take any concrete preventive measures.
In previous accidents, several teachers lost their lives on the Fazilka-Jalalabad road. Recently, a school teacher couple died when their car skidded off the road and fell into a canal near Sangatpura village in Moga district due to dense fog. In another incident in the Abohar area, a school van collided with a bus between Panjawa and Tootwala, with dozens of students narrowly escaping injury. Social organizations have expressed concern over the increasing number of such accidents and the lack of adequate action. Non-governmental organizations had urged the government to change school and college timings to 9 or 10 am to reduce travel during peak fog hours. However, instead of changing the timings, the government merged the pre-scheduled Christmas holidays with the winter vacations. According to sources, long-distance buses also depart as early as 6 am, when the fog is densest, and return late at night when visibility remains poor. Teachers often reach home after midnight after dropping students off in their villages. Social service groups allege that the government is focusing on programs like the “education revolution,” which is coming at the cost of the safety of ordinary citizens.