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| Risky Game: An overloaded vehicle carries schoolchildren in Paradip. Telegraph picture |
Paradip, March 29: The safety of schoolchildren commuting through various modes of transport to their respective institutions here is at stake.
The safety issues of the schoolchildren
apparently do not remain in priority list of the authorities of the
English medium private schools that have lately mushroomed in this port
town.
The sight of small children packed like
sardines in pick-up vans, autorickshaws and cyclerickshaws are too
glaring to escape one’s notice. The overloaded vehicles give a
distasteful look of miniature cattle wagons full of children.
“The journey is highly unsafe. Most of the
vehicles that carry schoolchildren in Paradip traverse though the
accident-prone national highway and state highway. With the vehicles
being overloaded, threat of mishaps looms large,” said Binayak Swain,
child rights activist.
“There are around 20 private educational
institutions in the port town and its periphery. Most of these schools
do not have bus service of their own. Parents are forced to ferry their
wards in private transports modes like vans, autorickshaws and
cyclerickshaws. These vehicles do not stick to safety norms while
ferrying the children,” he said.
“My son is enrolled in a school that is
around 2km from our residence. I accompany him to the school in a
rickshaw. I was initially thinking of sending him on pick-up vans. But I
gave up the idea as it is a not a safe mode of transportation,” said
Suchismita Pattnaik, a homemaker.
There is no mechanism to regulate the
transport vehicles that are carrying schoolchildren. Neither the road
transport department nor the civil administration is paying attention to
the issue. Even the school authorities are found washing off their
hands from this tricky issue.
“We have hired buses on contract to ferry
children from distant locations. We do not have any other school-owned
transport mode for children. It’s the responsibility of parents and
guardians to see that children are brought to school safely,” said James
Tharanyl, principal, Saint Joseph’s public school.
“The vehicles carrying children beyond
their capacity are liable to face penal action. But the fact is that the
administration is not in receipt of a single complaint in this regard.
Still, the road transport authorities are being directed to keep watch
on the school vehicles,” said Sarojkanta Choudhury, additional district
magistrate.
According to child rights activist Swain,
there are instances of unlawful operation of school vehicles with LPG
gas cylinders. Incidentally, the port town is not having any authorised
centre for gas kits for vehicular use. The operators are putting the
small children at risk. But they are going unpunished because of gross
absence of surveillance by motor vehicle inspectors.
(sourced from the telegraph)
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