ChildrenWalk Together for a Cause

QUEEN’S ROAD: After the success of the recent  'Walk-to-School' initiative, to encourage children to adopt a more environment-friendly lifestyle, the organisers plan to have it every week.

Over 1,500 children from seven schools refrained from using public and private transport and instead walked to school for in Sanjaynagar last Saturday.

Children living further away came by their own vehicles and  were dropped off at common points. They  walked to school inw groups and alone. Instead of complaining, they were happy to wake up early in the morning and go by foot to school

Laliltha Mohan, a representative from CiFoS ( Citizens for Sustainability), who conducted the event said, “ There was one child who walked from RT Nagar to Sanjaynagar."

All the children wore caps with the message “Let’s walk for a better Bengaluru’, all the while cheering enthusiastically.

The schools that participated in the event were Daffodils English School Pavithra VIdyanikethan, Sandeepani Niketan, Shikshasagar High school, Shikshasagar School and SYA High School

CiFoS (Citizens for Sustainability)  hosted this event in partnership with the NGO, ESAF. It is supported by B.PAC, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) and  BCOS (Bengaluru Coalition for Open Streets).

“I was very happy that my daughter woke up early, all by herself, and was eager to walk to school. It saved me a lot of screaming and the headache of getting them ready for school," said Roopa Naik, mother of Disha, a sixth-standard student at Shiksha Sagar high school.

The objectives of 'Walk to School' programme include

• Reduction in pollution.
• Reduction in traffic congestion.
• Health benefits. Children can benefit since they get enough physical activity and avoid diseases affecting lifestyle.
• Along with the children, parents are also sensitised to walking short distances.
• When parents walk with the children, it gives them an opportunity to interact with them and spend quality time with them.
• Children observe their neighbourhood when they walk and they get a feel of what is good and what needs to be improved in their neighborhood.
• When children are conscious about the good and bad in their neighborhood, at a later stage, they may take interest in involving themselves in the upkeep of their neighborhood.