Heavy vehicles banned on Samana-Patiala Road during school hours
The district administration today issued an order banning the plying of heavy vehicles on the Samana-Patiala and other roads during school hours.
The Tribune had highlighted the vulnerability of children in the area following the death of seven schoolkids and the driver of their Toyota Innova in a road accident on May 7.
Issuing the order Isha Singal, Additional District Magistrate, Patiala, under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, Samana-Patiala Road (SH-10) upto Pasiana Chonki, Samana-Patran Road up to village Kakrala, Samana-Bhawanigarh Road up to village Fatehgarh Channa and Samana-Chikka Road up to St Lawrence School the entry of heavy vehicles been prohibited from 6 am to 9 am and from 1 pm to 4 pm.
The latest order will remain in force from May 23 till July 22.
The Mohali senior superintendent of Police (SSP) and Secretary, Regional Transport Authority have been asked to strictly enforce the order.
The community also pledged to pool resources to hire proper school buses, marking a significant shift in local attitudes toward student safety.
Mobility of students had been a challenge for the parents for a long time. The children as young as five are being ferried 60km away from Samana each day. The recent road accident had jolted the consciousness of residents of the town completely.
The accident site, Nassupur — a stretch now dubbed a “killer road” (part of the congested Punjab State Highway 10 (Patiala–Patran–Moonak Road)), has long had a reputation for being accident-prone.
Investigations into the accident revealed alarming lapses. The Innova involved was carrying nearly double its capacity — 13 children in a 7-seater. The deceased driver had previously been challaned for overspeeding in Chandigarh. The tipper truck that struck the car also had multiple violations: its fitness certificate had expired in January 2024, pollution certificate in July 2023, and it had a pending challan in Haryana from 2022.
It is not yet known whether the tipper diver had a licence to drive heavy vehicles. In the FIR, the complainant had alleged that the tipper driver was in an inebriated state.
The outrage over the incident had also led to political intervention.
Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi and former MP Preneet Kaur had met Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to press for the widening of the Patiala–Patran–Moonak road into four-lanes.
Patiala