Gurugram, Oct. 4 -- Every morning and afternoon, a familiar scene unfolds in the city- private vans are seen packed beyond its capacity and students are seen seated squeezed shoulder to shoulder, said residents. In residential pockets close to schools, the situation worsens as these private vehicles jostle for space in narrow lanes, creating safety concerns. What follows next is loud and continuous honking and a frayed temper. Under the Haryana Surakshit Vahan Policy which came into effect on 2014, school vans are prohibited from carrying more than 1.5 times their registered capacity, ensuring a safe commute for the students. For instance, an eight-seater vehicle can ferry no more than 12 children at a time. This rule applies to both school-owned vehicles as well as those operated by third parties. If drivers are caught violating traffic rules more than three times, their driving licence will be banned. A parent of a private school student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "Children are crammed into private vans like cattle." Another parent, Rajiv Verma (name changed), whose child studies at DAV School in Sector 14, said he travels 22 kilometers daily to drop and pick up his child. "Private vans are dangerous, while school buses are too expensive," he said. Reena Sharma, one of the supervising heads of DAV School, acknowledged that private vans do cause some disruption in the afternoon. Addressing the issue of overcrowded vans, she shared that schools oversee what falls under their purview, but private vans are not directly under school's control. She explained that schools are not permitted to maintain detailed records of private van drivers. Another parent asked, "In the event of an accident, who will be held accountable?" Rajesh Mohan, DCP traffic, said that the action is regularly taken against the school vans violating safety norms. Meanwhile, Raju (name changed), 47, a private van driver, admitted he was unaware of the police. He said that he needs to carry at least 12 to 14 children per trip to sustain livelihood....