Pareekshith Shet

Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (EP)

Udupi, Jun 23: In the aftermath of major accident at Trasi where there were several deaths and injuries, the police department has laid down rules restricting the number of children that can be ferried in the vehicles.

The police have warned and imposed fines on those vehicles which violated the rules. However the taxi and auto drivers, who were annoyed with the restrictions, cancelled their trips on Thursday, June 23 here and protested.

Udupi district police on Wednesday had warned Omni cars and rickshaw drivers who were ferrying children in large numbers. They seized 6 rickshaws in Manipal and 2 rickshaws in Kemmannu. There is anguish among vehicle drivers with regard to it. As per directions of police department, there are restrictions that only 6 children can be transported in rickshaws and 12 children in Omni cars. This can be a burden for rental vehicles and middle class parents.

Rickshaw drivers were charging Rs 300 for each child when the rickshaw used to carry 10 to 12 children. They may have to charge between Rs 700 to Rs 900 after this. Omni vehicles will have to make two trips to ferry the children. The drivers who have not met with accident between 10 to 15 years also are put to hardship because of an accident in a distant place, said Subrahmanya, Nagesh two drivers and Sumathi, a woman driver of Omni car in Udupi.

Parent Muraleedhar Bhat said that school vehicle drivers are responsible and do take care of children like their own. “They drop them till schools and leave them till their residences”, he said. He urged that the rules should apply not only for rickshaws but also for buses.

On the whole, the protests following police strictly enforcing rules have made the parents worried. Some English medium schools have ignored the protests as if the problem is not theirs. Some children had to stay at home due to the protests on Thursday. Some parents took their children to school in their private vehicles.