Children or sardines?
Lack of transportation and compulsory attendance at the state govt’s mega sports event, Khel Mahakumbh, forces poor municipal school teachers to put lives of children from Khokhra in danger by packing them in goods rickshaws
Yogesh Avasthi and Kalpesh Bhatt
Posted On Friday, November 26, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010112620101126030218573de07e4d)
Two’s company, three’s a crowd. What would you call 25 schoolchildren stuffed into a speeding loading rickshaw — sardines, perhaps?
An elbow pokes through a jumble of limbs, trying to hold fast onto a metal rod on the vehicle. Unable to find standing space among schoolmates, four boys stand precariously on the rickshaw’s folding ramp. Another kid tries to climb over others’ heads to catch a breath of air.
The games are held from 8 am to 3 pm. Students from 11 civic schools in Khokhra are participating in the event. Those who live nearby walk down. The others find it tough to get transportation. Tired after taking part in various strenuous contests, walking home in not an option for most.
No vehicles
“It is compulsory for all schools — private and civic — to take part. While private schools employ buses or autos to ferry their students, municipal schools do not have the funds to hire private vehicles. As participation is compulsory, teachers came up with the idea of pooling in money and hiring loading rickshaws to ferry students. The teachers and students contribute anything from Rs 2 to Rs 5 as rickshaw fare. The students are picked up from and dropped back at the school. The government is spending approximately Rs 66 crore to make the event a success. As much as Rs 23 crore has been earmarked for the prizes alone. But nobody has thought of providing students of civic schools with transportation. Are they waiting for an accident to occur before taking notice of this dangerous practice?” said Akhilesh Sharma, a worried parent.
Ramesh Chavda, another parent, said: “The practice began with one school but teachers in Amraiwadi, Naroda, Bapunagar and many other schools in the eastern part of the city have followed suit. They may have no option, but the lives of our kids are at stake.”
Nothing wrong
Cluster Resource Co-ordinator (Khokhra Zone) Rajendra Mishra accepted that students were being ferried in loading rickshaws.
He said, “There’s nothing wrong with the practice. We wanted students to be safe and under the teacher’s watch, so we adopted this idea. There is a teacher in each rickshaw to ensure that the driver rides safely and the kids do not push around. We cannot hire buses as it is not economically feasible. Also, there are too few children for us to hire a big vehicle.”
Asked why the children were not being transported in AMTS buses, the CRC said, “There is no bus that goes straight from the school to the complex. Students would need to change buses at one or two places. The rickshaw would take them straight from the school to the complex.”
Mishra disregarded the possibility that an accident could occur. “We do not ferry kids in goods rickshaws every day. This will be done only till the mahakumbh lasts. Nothing will happen during this time,” he asserted.
The sporting event which began on November 20 will end on December 15. Time enough to tempt fate.
Mishra also denied that students were contributing towards the fare.
“The money is being forked out from the school fund. Some teachers are donating money, too,” he said.
Administrative Officer (AMC Schools) Dr Laghdir Desai said, “Plans for the mahakumbh was finalised months in advance. We held numerous meetings to ensure there are no glitches.”
Asked about transportation facilities, he said, “We did not hire buses as we chose sports centres close to schools. However, we did tell co-ordinators that buses would be pressed into service if the need arises. No one has approached us so far.”
Informed about the loading rickshaws, Desai said, “Such a thing has not come to our notice. We will look into the matter and take action. This is just not done.”
Modi wants to build a talent pool of outstanding sportspersons, through this month-long Mahakumbh. Let’s fervently pray the probables do not perish before the event is over.
Yogesh Avasthi and Kalpesh Bhatt
Posted On Friday, November 26, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010112620101126030218573de07e4d)
Two’s company, three’s a crowd. What would you call 25 schoolchildren stuffed into a speeding loading rickshaw — sardines, perhaps?
An elbow pokes through a jumble of limbs, trying to hold fast onto a metal rod on the vehicle. Unable to find standing space among schoolmates, four boys stand precariously on the rickshaw’s folding ramp. Another kid tries to climb over others’ heads to catch a breath of air. Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s much-touted Khel Mahakumbh might turn out to be a catalyst for sports culture in the state, but what about the safety of children? These are photographs (see also page 4) of municipal school students on their way to attend the “biggest sports event of the country”.
Pushing, pulling and horsing around, the kids are excited about taking part in competitions at the Khokhra Sports Complex. They give little thought to the immediate danger that surrounds them. A teacher accompanies the team, but sitting in front with the driver, she does not really have a control over the hyper kids.
As the rickshaw pulls to a stop outside the complex, seen are five other rickshaws ferrying civic school students in a similar manner. The games are held from 8 am to 3 pm. Students from 11 civic schools in Khokhra are participating in the event. Those who live nearby walk down. The others find it tough to get transportation. Tired after taking part in various strenuous contests, walking home in not an option for most.
No vehicles
“It is compulsory for all schools — private and civic — to take part. While private schools employ buses or autos to ferry their students, municipal schools do not have the funds to hire private vehicles. As participation is compulsory, teachers came up with the idea of pooling in money and hiring loading rickshaws to ferry students. The teachers and students contribute anything from Rs 2 to Rs 5 as rickshaw fare. The students are picked up from and dropped back at the school. The government is spending approximately Rs 66 crore to make the event a success. As much as Rs 23 crore has been earmarked for the prizes alone. But nobody has thought of providing students of civic schools with transportation. Are they waiting for an accident to occur before taking notice of this dangerous practice?” said Akhilesh Sharma, a worried parent.
Ramesh Chavda, another parent, said: “The practice began with one school but teachers in Amraiwadi, Naroda, Bapunagar and many other schools in the eastern part of the city have followed suit. They may have no option, but the lives of our kids are at stake.”
Nothing wrong
Cluster Resource Co-ordinator (Khokhra Zone) Rajendra Mishra accepted that students were being ferried in loading rickshaws.
He said, “There’s nothing wrong with the practice. We wanted students to be safe and under the teacher’s watch, so we adopted this idea. There is a teacher in each rickshaw to ensure that the driver rides safely and the kids do not push around. We cannot hire buses as it is not economically feasible. Also, there are too few children for us to hire a big vehicle.”
Asked why the children were not being transported in AMTS buses, the CRC said, “There is no bus that goes straight from the school to the complex. Students would need to change buses at one or two places. The rickshaw would take them straight from the school to the complex.”
Mishra disregarded the possibility that an accident could occur. “We do not ferry kids in goods rickshaws every day. This will be done only till the mahakumbh lasts. Nothing will happen during this time,” he asserted.
The sporting event which began on November 20 will end on December 15. Time enough to tempt fate.
Mishra also denied that students were contributing towards the fare.
“The money is being forked out from the school fund. Some teachers are donating money, too,” he said.
Administrative Officer (AMC Schools) Dr Laghdir Desai said, “Plans for the mahakumbh was finalised months in advance. We held numerous meetings to ensure there are no glitches.”
Asked about transportation facilities, he said, “We did not hire buses as we chose sports centres close to schools. However, we did tell co-ordinators that buses would be pressed into service if the need arises. No one has approached us so far.”
Informed about the loading rickshaws, Desai said, “Such a thing has not come to our notice. We will look into the matter and take action. This is just not done.”
Modi wants to build a talent pool of outstanding sportspersons, through this month-long Mahakumbh. Let’s fervently pray the probables do not perish before the event is over.
