School cab drivers protest govt’s no parking order

An effort to decongest and 'ensure the safety of students' at two prominent schools in the Capital is merely adding to commuter woes and, according to parents, wasting precious time that they would rather spend in office and which their children should spend studying at home.

An effort to decongest and 'ensure the safety of students' at two prominent schools in the Capital is merely adding to commuter woes and, according to parents, wasting precious time that they would rather spend in office and which their children should spend studying at home.

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On Monday, the drivers of private school cabs and minibuses catering to children studying at the St. Columba's School and the Convent of Jesus and Mary were on a strike, forcing parents to personally pick-up their children. The strike also led to a virtual gridlock at the Gol Dak Khana roundabout.

"We have been parking our cars here for the past 20 years. All we are asking is that we be allowed to park in front of the school for 30 minutes so that we can pick the children up from there," said Kirpal Singh, one of the cab drivers on strike.

The reason for the parents' and now, the cab drivers' despair, is an order prohibiting parking at or near the Gol Dak Khana, which happens to be one of the Capital's busiest roundabouts, passed by the area's Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) on March 30.

"The order is proving to be a huge problem for working parents. Our children's lives are at risk but no one cares. I have asked the cab driver to make sure that my boys cross the road safely everyday but when he has so many children to take care of, mistakes are unavoidable," said Urmi Ashutosh Nanchaha, an advocate.

"The prevailing situation in the area will be assessed tomorrow. Let's see how things actually are on the ground," said Satyendra Garg, joint CP (traffic). Garg will be visiting the area on Tuesday.