The School Education Department Secretary and Namakkal District Monitoring Officer, J. Kumaragurubaran, conducted an inspection of school buses in the district on Thursday.
The inspection was carried out after the state government instructed officials to assess the fitness of school buses before the commencement of the academic year under the supervision of the district-level interdepartmental committee. District Collector S. Uma inspected school buses at the Namakkal Armed Reserve Ground.
A total of 622 school buses, falling within the jurisdiction of the Namakkal North Regional Transport Office (270 buses) and the Namakkal South RTO Office (352 buses), were inspected. During the inspection, a demonstration was held for school bus drivers and others in charge on emergency protocols. Subsequently, drivers underwent eye and physical examinations.
Mr. Kumaragurubaran later surveyed ongoing scheme works, including the construction of a ration shop worth ₹9.76 lakh in Velagoundampatti, a motor room costing ₹27.60 lakh in Marukalampatti, new classrooms valued at ₹63.54 lakh in Kumaramangalam Government High School, and additional classrooms costing ₹42.72 lakh in Tiruchengode Government Boys Higher Secondary School. Additionally, urban drinking water distribution works amounting to ₹2.83 crore in Tiruchengode Municipality were also inspected. Kumaragurubaran further assessed the progress of the laying of drinking water pipelines at Ilupuli and interacted with the public to gather feedback on the quantity and quality of water supplied to them.
Later in the day, Mr. Kumaragurubaran conducted a review meeting with officials from every department officials at Namakkal Collectorate. Addressing the officials, Kumaragurubaran emphasized the need to ensure adequate drinking water to residents across the five municipalities, 19 town panchayats, and 322 panchayats in the district. He urged prompt rectification of any issues with drinking water pipelines and proposed additional water supply through trucks in areas facing water scarcity.
