But traffic cops, who have teamed up with officials from Regional Transport Office to penalise defaulters, were nowhere to be seen, ostensibly due to VIP duty.

The drive against school vans using illegal and substandard LPG kits was undertaken in the state capital after three children were killed in a school van blast in Mumbai recently.

The RTO, which had summoned all such van owners for a technical inspection a couple of days earlier, did not see much activity as van owners boycotted the inspection fearing cancellation of registration.

“Usually, about 12 children are stuffed into the van making them vulnerable to accidents. We had issued instructions to restrict the number of children to 10 but van owners demanded that the number be increased to 20,” said Lucknow RTO Gangaphal.

He added, “We will not compromise on such demands and the drive will continue in the same stringent manner.”

“In most of the vans, we noticed children were being seated even atop the gas cylinders. This will not be allowed and all such vehicles will be impounded,” he warned.

School van owners, however, argue that they will not be able to break even by carrying the number of children as prescribed by the RTO.

“We are supposed to pay Rs 2,400 every third month for renewal of the van permit. If we carry 10 children, we cannot even make up for the cost of LPG. We request the RTO to rethink the decision,” said Raju Verma, a van owner.