Emboldened by the high activity level shown by Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik on roadside encroachment and his drive to make the stretch of road between Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) and Clock Tower free from encroachment, the All Uttarakhand Parents Association (AUPA) has sought intervention of the Minister in clearing footpaths and ensuring safety of school children.
A meeting of the executive body of the association was organised on Saturday. In the meeting the issue of safety of the school children was raised. The President of the association Neeraj Singhal said that almost all footpaths in the provisional state capital are occupied by the encroachers due to which public has to use roads to walk. In such a scenario the children going to school are most susceptible to accidents because of their physical vulnerability and immaturity, he said. Singhal pointed out that the association had raised the issue of safety of students last year and complained that many roadside vendors have encroached footpaths on busy Shimla By pass and GMS road. He said that the Uttarakhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights took cognizance of the complaint and issued notice to district administration. The President of the AUPA claimed that the police submitted a false report in commission in which it informed that there are no encroachments on footpath. The AUPA sent a memorandum to the minister mentioning that his working style has evoked hopes of the parents concerned about safety of their wards.
The association has requested Madan Kaushik to order removal of encroachments from the roads of Dehradun so that the students can go to schools safely. In the meeting the members of AUPA also expressed their solidarity with the North East Students Union which has given a call for a peace march on May 21. The call for the march is given to express protest on the shocking incident of rape of a north eastern student by some miscreants in a moving car in Gurugram, Haryana recently.