Carting children to school, the eco friendly way

VRINDAVAN - It could well be a case of back to the future. Bullock carts might be outmoded and belong to an era gone by, but it is the preferred mode of transport for a school here that is trying to cut down on vehicular emissions for a pollution-free tomorrow.

Equipped with all modern educational facilities, Sandipani Muni, a charitable school in Vrindavan town, around 300 km from Lucknow, prefers bullock carts to fuel-driven vehicles for ferrying its students.

“It may sound surprising to many that a modern school like us uses bullock carts instead of buses and other vehicles. But when people come to know the objective behind using the traditional mode of transport, they admire our initiative,” vice principal Neeraj Saigal told IANS.

“We don’t say we would be able to bring down vehicular emissions drastically, but we certainly believe that our initiative will protect the environment and lower the pollution level to some extent,” he added.

The school that provides free-of-cost education till Class 12 to poor and needy students, with a special focus on girls, was set up in 2002. Since then, the school has been using the traditional mode of transport for ferrying students.

“We started with just one bullock cart. But after getting positive feedback, we decided to increase the number of bullock carts,” Saigal said.

“At present, we have seven bullock carts that are being used to ferry around 400 students. Most of the students, who ride bullock carts, live two-three kilometres from the school. For those residing near the schools, we have cycle rickshaws,” he added.

School authorities say the bullock cart drive is not only safe but also a lot of fun.

“As the carts are covered from every side, there is no question of students falling from the carts. Moreover, for the safety of the students, there’s a conductor for every bullock cart. The conductor accompanies the students every time they ride on carts. Students too find it exciting,” said Saigal.

According to school authorities, even if this indigenous mode of transport is slow, one of the merits is that it requires virtually no maintenance as compared to other modes of transport.

“The slow speed of carts is not a demerit. Why do you forget the safety aspect? And as the bullock cart arrives well before time, there’s no question of getting late,” said Rajan Raj, whose son studies in Class 5 in the school.

Locals believe such initiatives should also be followed by other educational institutions.

“If other schools of the district or state become a part of the step initiated by the Sandipani Muni, we can definitely bring down the pollution levels,” said Malay Sameer Sharma, who runs a computer training institute in Vrindavan.

(Asit Srivastava can be contacted at asit.s@ians.in)