Mangaluru: ‘Kids Safety, Our Priority’! Parents Control Traffic, Kids near St Theresa School Zone

Mangaluru: Traffic congestion near St Theresa’s School- Bendore has lessened quite a bit and there is a smooth flow of vehicles, ever since some dedicated and energetic members of Parents Teachers association (PTA) of St Theresa’s School took the initiative to control the traffic movement near the school during busy morning hours and also in the afternoon when children return home after school. The campaign started on 13 August and will end on 22 August, but will return again with a surprise date. With the theme ” Kids Safety, My Priority” these parents are trying to bring an awareness among the children’s parents and general public to avoid traffic congestion and also look into the safety of children while crossing the road or while alighting from vehicles.

The PTA comprises of 32 members, including the Principal and Teachers, where Sr Premitha, the Principal is the President of the Association, and Parent Stella Roche, the Vice President. Speaking to mangalorean.com, Stella said, ” Children’s safety is our Priority. All of us want our school to be a safe and enjoyable place for our children. Being in a central location adjacent to a busy road, traffic around the school has become a cause of concern. Parents and public thoughtfulness and voluntary cooperation is critical to make it a safer place for all. We appeal that parents/public follow a few simple guidelines to improve safety and to avoid congestion of traffic- Hence we request you to follow the guidelines that we have circulated to avoid congestion of traffic.”

Some of the guidelines are : STOP- DROP/PICK- GO, DON’T PARK: You can drop your child near the main gate, the staff and the RSP team will help the child instead of you doing so. You can thus avoid parking during the busy hours and holding traffic; DO NOT PARK NEAR THE MAIN GATE: If you must park, please do so away from the main gates and thus enjoy a small walk with your child; TURN ONLY AT END OF THE SIDE ROAD: If you are dropping/picking the child from the side gate, do so, and then proceed till end of the road and turn back; DO NOT PARK BLOCKING THE CORNERS-Around places where it makes it difficult to turn.

AVOID PARKING ON THE SIDE ROAD, PARK WITH YOUR VEHICLE FACING THE MAIN ROAD, IF YOU MUST- We request you to give priority to people taking care of more than three kids such as van and auto drivers. That would be a great gesture!

Sujith Noronha, a parent of two kids who are studying in 5th class and UKG, has been active in this campaign controlling the traffic and also helping children get to the school safely, has already been nicknamed by the kids as “Super-Cop”. Another senior volunteer, Maxim Moras who drives a school van said, ” After I am done dropping children at their respective schools in my van, I come here to volunteer and help in traffic control and also look for the safety of the kids when they cross or walk on the busy road. It gives me great pleasure to carry on with this work since I feel that the safety of kids should be everyone’s priority. Parents and public should cooperate to avoid any traffic congestion and also watch for kids safety”.

The sound of screeching tyres on this busy road followed by an occasional thud is not uncommon near this school zone. It has been a common phenomenon observed by the residents in this part of the city and it is quite painful to witness the traffic congestion. The sad part is that our “lovely” police have left this place totally unmanned, even during the school hours. St Theresa’s School is located at a three-way junction which now has traffic lights but no police vigil. Speeding vehicles coming from different directions often miss hitting each as it is a blind turning. It is worse after the school hours as there is a perpetual traffic jam with parked school buses,other vehicles and parents coming to pick up their children thereby, causing a big commotion.

However, parents who come to leave their wards at the school every morning have a different story to tell. The school management and PTA members are doing their best to avoid any kind of traffic congestion and any accidents-but it will be helpful if a cop is appointed to direct traffic at the junction. In the meantime the members of St Theresa’s School PTA has a message to convey, “We implore you to help us in maintaining the flame of safety that we have kindled. Your cooperation will go a long way in saluting the spirit of safety for our children. We request all parents to reach out and help students in distress and those in need of guidance at the peak hours. The ‘Each one’-‘Help one’ attitude will eventually benefit our own children- all “THERESIANS”.

So with the initiative taken by these parents and teachers to bring awareness on traffic congestion and safety of children, let’s hope that the parents will follow the guidelines when they drop or pick-up their kids, so that there is no inconvenience caused to anyone and no traffic congestion takes place near the school. Let’s all hope for the best today, tomorrow and the coming days, keeping in mind, “Kids Safety, My Priority!”