Bus Service on Cards to woo Streetkids to Attend Signal School

12th May, 2018

THANE : In order to reach out to a maximum number of streetchildren across the city and to encourage them to join the ‘signal school’ at Teen Haath Naka, a bus service is being planned for these kids from the next academic year. A proposal on this will be tabled at the general body meeting next week.

The civic administration who conceptualized the facility two years ago, in collaboration with city-based NGO Samarth Bharat Vyaspeeth, currently teaches around 40 street children.

In a bid to extend their services to children in every nook and corner of the city, the NGO conducted a survey in seven areas.

Bhatu Sawant, CEO of the NGO said, “When we carried out a survey at major junctions like Manpada, Cadbury, Kalwa and Mulund check naka. There we found 17 children begging on the street. Since it is not possible at the moment to set up another school for them, we thought of launching a bus service for such kids. So we spoke to the parents and convinced them to send their children to school.” Sawant and his team then approached another local NGO for help.

With their aid, the signal school now has a 21 seater bus. While the bus has already been funded for, the only task left now is to get an approval from the Thane municipal corporation (TMC) for its functioning, after which it would be on the roads by June.

“The TMC will be bearing the cost of the fuel required for the transportation and will also pay for the driver’s salary and bus maintenance. We have proposed the plan to the civic chief and the mayor. We have kept August 15 as the target to reach out to all street children from different parts of the city,” said Sawant.

To cater to a growing number of students, a new classroom will also be started for these children. Work may be completed by mid-June.

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com