BENGALURU: A number of government school children in South Bengaluru seem to be having a hard time coming to school. One of the reasons for this is the lack of proper cycle infrastructure and the fear that their cycles would get stolen due to the lack of the same.This is one of the preliminary findings of a survey that is being carried out the Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF), an NGO that promotes sustainable transport in public spaces. The details of the same has been submitted to it to the Department of Urban Land Transport (DULT).ESAF is also a part of the Bengaluru Coalition for Open Streets, a non-profit collective that comprises of various organisations individual citizens and conducts Cycle Days throughout the city.
Manju George, senior programme manager, ESAF says, “In a couple of interactions with government schools, the headmasters told us that off late many children had stopped bringing their cycles to schools because many of their friends had lost theirs. Many of these schools lack proper infrastructure. Sometimes they do not even have a compound wall.”
Generally, if schools had better overall infrastructure, more students would come to schools, she adds. “In the survey, we have asked principals to check the total strength of school children, those coming to school in cycles and how many children they think will turn up if better infrastructure is provided,” she says.
The results of the survey have been given to DULT to be able to work on providing better cycle infrastructure, adds Manju.
N Murli Krishna, Special Officer, DULT says that the present task is to understand the requirement of the schools and the survey is a small step in that direction. “Our ultimate goal is to ensure safety and safety of students while commuting, make sure that congestion infront of schools is relieved. For example, providing safe cycling space and walking space say around one two or three kilometers from the school and to ensure that there is good cycling infrastructure such as parking facilities.” DULT has provided around some parking infrastructure in three government schools in Yelahanka so far.
Saleem Basha, BEO-South Zone-4, Bengaluru says, “The survey is primarily for primary schools. It is a very good initiative that will allow student safe access to schools. Students should be able to travel freely and safely in city areas, something that usually does not happen.”