School children do not find commuting to school in vans comfortable at all. The vans are overstuffed with kids, their bags and other paraphernalia and many students complain that they are not a safe mode of transportation. But parents find it convenient to hire vans as they pick kids from their doorstep and drop them there. Raghav Gupta, a student of Class 8, said, “Till last year when I was studying at St Francis College, I used to go in my dad’s car. From this year me and my younger brother shifted to a different school at Gomti Nagar. My parents hired a shared school van for our transportation. We children often fight for window seat.” Sharing his discomfort in the van, Raghav said, “My school ends at 1:30 pm but I reach home by 2:30. It’s hot and humid, making the journey very uncomfortable. Vans shouldn’t carry so many children . It’s quite inconvenient.”
His younger brother Anubhav Gupta , a student of Class 4, was equally frustrated. “In May, it was unbearably hot. Breathing becomes difficult in a van packed with several children. I sweat so much that my shirt gets soaked. Sitting for an hour after school in this weather is very uncomfortable,” he said.
Traffic nightmare outside CMS Gomti Nagar 1:
In a shocking display of negligence, the area surrounding City Montessori School, Gomti Nagar 1 has transformed into a perpetual traffic nightmare, defying all efforts at control despite the presence of guards and police officials. Commuters have to navigate through daily gridlock worsened by reckless parental behaviour and ineffectual management.
Parents park their vehicles on both sides of the road to pick up their children. This blocks the way for a smooth flow of traffic from the main crossroad. They routinely abandon their vehicles in the middle of the road, creating bottlenecks that stretch from the main crossroad to the school gates. This blatant disregard for traffic regulations not only obstructs the flow of vehicles but also poses a severe risk to pedestrians as well as students navigating the area.
“Parents park wherever they want and block the way for traffic movement. It is half an hour of utter chaos.” Despite the presence of many guards at gate 2 and gate 3 and police officials around the area, the problem of traffic congestion and blockage persists. Private school guards not objecting to parents’ vehicles parked at the side of the road shows the sincere efforts of CMS to curb traffic congestion.
Traffic jam adds to woes
Downtown Hazratganj is the main shopping hub of Lucknow. In addition to a hi-end market , it also has restaurants, hotels, theatres, cafes and many offices. St Joseph’s Cathedral Senior Secondary School and St Francis’ College are located in the same area.
Neha Yadav, a commuter who came to pick her children from school said, “The traffic is due to the intersection, it gets worst when there are additional vehicles for picking up students outside a school.” She said that parents often thought that parking their vehicles right outside the school gate would save their time. They would pick up the child in five minutes and move away. However, because of this, traffic jams occurred and they themselves got stuck in the traffic. When asked why she did not send her children in a van, she said that van drivers took long to drop children and crammed too many children inside.
A Class 11 student Fatima and her younger brother who study in Cathedral School said when their parents came to pick them, they were forced to park their vehicles at a distance from the school because there was no space left in front of the school gate. “So, it’s a major inconvenience for us because we have to walk in scorching heat,” they said.
Fatima said that sometimes they both have to go home by themselves in rickshaw or auto. Sometimes they found a mode of transport as soon as they left school but at other times the police removed them and they had to go to the other side of the road to seek a rickshaw or auto.
A woman constable, who was managing the traffic said, “The traffic snarl is natural during the school dismissal time. The signals are properly working and we are also here to ease the traffic. The major congestion occurs on Sundays because everyone goes out for leisure activities that day.”
A woman traffic police inspector said, “We have talked to the school authorities to arrange parking inside the school so that the parents who come to pick up their children park their vehicles inside. If the school authorities take steps regarding parking, then the traffic flow will be smoother.”
The school authorities repeatedly made announcements stating not to park vehicles in front of the gate. Even after this, the vehicles were parked by the parents on the restricted spot, she said.
(Story Courtesy: hindustantimes.com)