Why do Bengaluru's children risk their life to reach school?

In a city like Bengaluru, every parent wants his or her child to go to school. And to get them to that school, they are ready to do everything from admitting them to large schools to shelling out large amounts for daily transportation.

The families that can afford to send their children by school buses, or at least have access to such a facility, are considered lucky as the there is no room for complacency when it comes to child safety, 

However, many parents, especially those in the lower economic strata of the city, send their kids to nearby schools via common sight in the city - heavily overloaded autorickshaws and vans, ignoring child safety.

Realistically, this is an extremely uncomfortable scenario - in which a single horrific moment can shatter over a dozen families. 

Vasudev Sharma, Executive Director, Child Welfare Trust and a former member of the Child Welfare Committee says that the government made a mistake of giving permissions for to private schools anywhere in the city.  Many of these schools, he said, ignored child safety when it comes to transport. 

"The families are poor and still want to educate their children in a good private school. They do not mind sending their children in autos and vans. This could prove dangerous as the vehicles add more children than the capacity," he said.

This is certainly true. As the population of the city exploded over the years, the city has seen a proportional rise in schools - many of which are single buildings in smaller lanes, which do have even parking, let alone safe places to load and drop off children. 

The Bengaluru Traffic department, which is authorised to book cases against transporters for carrying excess passengers and ignoring child safety mechanism, says it is helpless as the poor kids cannot miss classes. 

"Cracking down on these vehicles will affect the child's education. The department can only note the vehicle number and send notices to the owners and warn them not to carry excess passengers. But it cannot do much. The parents should take steps," said a senior traffic police officer.

Narayanswamy, Additional Commissioner of Transport, said that to a large extent, the city had disciplined big private schools. 

These schools now provide buses, which are required to have the following - first aid boxes, attenders, experienced drivers, lock systems, the details of every child, his or her blood group, phone numbers of parents and speed governors. 

"Despite all these safety measures, we still hear of child safety violations. It is largely by those cabs and vans that are not attached to any school. These cabs are being booked to ensure the drivers stop taking excess passengers," he said.    

Despite such explanations, Asianet Newsable feels the question must be asked - Why must Bengaluru's children risk their lives to come to school every day?

• School children
• Bengaluru