Hyderabad: Every day Hyderabad sees autorickshaws crammed with schoolchildren. This is a gross violation of the law which has been ignored by everyone. Last week a special drive was conducted against this, and 871 cases were booked.
With autorickshaw unions opposing every move to enforce laws no police official wants to come on record on this subject. Sheikh Pasha who regularly ferries students of leading schools in the Abids area says his autorickshaw does not carry more than six children. However, one of the students sitting behind countered his claim, and said it is always between eight and nine, and sometimes more.
“Though my daughter shares an autorickshaw with only five other kids, there are many children who have to travel in crammed vehicles,” says Manish Jain, a resident of Ramkote.
“Cases are being booked against autos. There are private vehicles which ferry kids. One consolation is that they are safer than those in autorickshaws,” said a cop. A few years ago Hyderabadis witnessed two disasters involving schoolchildren.
In one mishap near St Ann’s School in Secunderabad a girl was killed and some others injured. The second case was right outside the police commissioner’s office in which a schoolboy was killed when an overloaded auto overturned, and the fare meter hit the chest of the kid.
As of now with the academic session into its second month there have been no cases of accidents. Going by the blatant disregard of rules by auto drivers and the tardy enforcement of laws by the police, one can only hope against disasters.
