Kochi: Leaving 200 students of Govt. Higher Secondary School, Elamakkara, dejected, Kerala Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) seized four tourist buses for not complying with the mandatory checks before inter-state travels.
The students had arrived at the school early and boarded the buses for their excursion to Ootty in Tamil Nadu when MVD officers played the spoilsport. But the officers insisted that the trip was planned in violation of the law. They said the buses would be released only after the owners presented all documents including fitness certificates.
As per the MVD directive, buses have to secure the fitness certificate before each tourist's trip. But the owners had only applied for the certificate and were yet to produce the vehicles before MVD, officers said. The buses seized are registered at Perumbavoor and Chalakudy, they said.
Asst. MVIs N S Binu and P C Sheeba led the seizures. They found several effects in the buses when they were subjected to checks at the Kakkanad RTO, officers said.
The last-minute official action left students in the lurch. When school officials' efforts to book other buses proved futile, students cancelled the excursion plan.
