Kids ride bullock carts to school

The children of a prestigious school in Mathura district—the land of Lord Krishna—have decided to do their bit in resolving the problem by going to the school in bullock carts rather than diesel-driven buses. Scores of bullock carts have been pressed into service to ferry hundreds of children to the Sandipani Muni School at Vrindavan, about 20 kilometres from Mathura town.

Though the school has several buses to transport the children, they all are now rusting inside the premises for the past several days. “The children have found travelling by the bullock carts pleasurable..not one of them has objected to it”, says the director of the school Rajendra Prasad while speaking to Deccan Herald. Prasad also claimed the “whole-hearted” support of the parents. “The parents welcomed the idea of ferrying their wards to the school by bullock carts instead of the fast school buses for the sake of the environment,” he said.

Parents concur

“It is a very good step. After all, we too have a duty to keep our environment clean and pollution free”, said Binayak Pal, a parent. For the children, travelling by the bullock carts is an altogether new experience. “We are really enjoying it...some times we get down from the cart and follow it and then again board it,” chuckles Mithilesh, a seventh standard student.

Of course, the parents, now have to prepare their children for the school a bit early. “They (children) also have to get up early to make for the time taken by the slow moving bullock carts,” said Pal.

For the school management, the new experience has paid off. Prasad expects that more schools would follow his example and stop using pollution causing buses. “There are scores of schools in and around Vrindavan...if all of them start using pollution free modes of transport, there will be a positive effect on the environment,” Prasad added.

DH News Service