Farmers protest: Parents worried about how children will reach exam centers amid restrictions

With school board exams set to begin on Thursday, residents of areas near Delhi’s Tikri and Singhu borders are worried about how children will reach exam centers amid traffic and security restrictions in view of farmers’ protests.

Adding to the woes, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Friday called a ‘Bharat Bandh’ in support of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ movement – Punjab farmers marched to the national capital to force the Center to accept their demands, including enactment of an undertaking Minimum Support Price (MSP) laws for crops.

Restrictions in areas around the Delhi-Haryana border crossing came into effect on Tuesday, the day the march began, and the areas have been fortified with metal barricades and concrete blocks to prevent farmers from entering the city.

Tikri locals said children were unable to attend coaching classes and how they would reach exam centres, adding that the restrictions added to the concerns of parents who were already battling “exam stress”.

A group of girls, whose examination center is Tikrikalan Government Boys High School, said they had to leave their homes early due to the restrictions as the school is about seven kilometers away from their village. “We don’t have a car. So we may have to leave early and look for a car or a bus to reach our exam center in time,” said a girl in the group heading to the exam center from Mundaka.

People with cars decided to take the subway to avoid traffic jams.

“My examination center is located at Mehrauli in south Delhi, about 40 km away. I have to reach the center at 8 am. Due to heavy traffic, I will not travel by car. Instead, I will take the metro to reach there,” said a resident of Tikri Border , said Suraj Upadhyay, a grade 12 student.

Pallavi, a student at a CBSE school who lives near the Singapore border, said: “I planned to leave home three to four hours early as I had to go to DAV Pritampura for my exam. I could have waited outside the center for an hour, but I You can’t be late.” A woman who lives near the Xinhu border said: “There are a lot of restrictions on transportation and the children cannot go to tutoring centers or play.” Another parent said: “This affects their studies and may affect them test scores.”

Reacting to SKM’s decision, a parent group said it was “extremely distressing for us as concerned parents to be forced to speak out against the proposed national strike or bandh on February 16” and called on it to reconsider their bandh call.

“Our children have been studying hard while preparing for these exams. However, their efforts may go in vain if they are unable to reach the exam centers due to rail blockades and unavailability of transport services.”

Besides providing legal cover to MSP, farmers also demand implementation of Swaminathan Commission recommendations, pension for farmers and farm workers, farm debt waiver, withdrawal of police cases and justice, rehabilitation for victims of Lakhimpur Kheri violence Land Acquisition Bill 2013, withdrawal from the World Trade Organization, and compensation to the families of farmers who died in the last riots.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from associated news agency – PTI)