When the clock strikes 3 p.m., the Chapel Road in Abids teems with students clad in uniforms of different colours and patterns. Many schools line the 500-metre two-way lane, with five of them adjacent to one another. Students can be seen crossing the road, getting into parked cars and autorickshaws, all while narrowly escaping vehicles zipping past.
The ‘traffic marshals’ stand guard at the entrance of the school premises, concerning themselves with just that area. Beyond that, the children are mostly on their own.
It was on one such afternoon almost two decades ago that a four-year-old girl died in a road accident right in front of her school in Secunderabad. She was crossing the road with her van driver and four other children when a lorry racing along the road ran her over. The incident occurred on August 11, 2005.
Though that school later got a foot over bridge to help students cross the road, children studying in other schools have not been so lucky.
In 2023, there were 30 accidents involving schoolchildren, and the first six months of this year saw 13 such incidents. The police said they have already written to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation to install facilities like footpaths; signages; amber lights; and holding space for drop-off and pick-up to prevent such accidents. The civic body has agreed to provide Special Development Funds to plug the infrastructural loopholes, they added.
According to the Hyderabad traffic police, about 530 such schools across Hyderabad lack the amenities.These include Sujatha High School, Rosary Convent School, Little flower, Diamond Jubilee High School and Slate School on Chirag Ali Lane in Abids. Others in the list include Nasr School and Vidyaranya High School in Khairatabad; St. Antony in Himayat Nagar; and FIITJEE college in Saifabad.
Ramesh Ramtirthe, who runs a tea stall, near a school said an accident or two were a common occurance on that street daily. “After school hours, children criss-cross the street, from an ice cream shop on the left to a chaat stall on the right, and no one from the school takes responsibility,” he added.
I. Mutlaya Rao, a traffic police officer, posted on that same spot said that between 3 and 4.30 p.m. every day, the lane is the busiest in the area, with around 10,000 people passing through. “Speed breakers have been installed between Chirag Ali Lane and Chapel Road,” he added.
Systemic overhaul
A popular school on the Begumpet stretch, which used to be chock-a-block in the morning and evening hours, was asked by the policeto provide dedicated drop-off and pick-up space for students, sparing regular commuters from traffic snarls.
A senior traffic police official said on condition of anonymity that many schools do not allow parents and private drivers to pick up students from the premises, causing not only congestion on roads but also a great risk to children’s lives. ”Before construction, schools are required to obtain an NOC from the police, which obligates them to have adequate parking and pick-up spaces, along with other facilities. Discrepancies have been observed at that level,” the police official added.
