HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Telangana High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy directed the Hyderabad police commissionerate (traffic) to continue their drive to ensure safety and security of school children.
Disposing of a writ petition that sought a direction to the home, traffic and transport department authorities to issue necessary guidelines to provide a safe environment for school children in order to avoid untoward incidents, the bench directed them to take measures like convening meetings with traffic officials, schools and parents; restricting maximum number of children in an auto to six; signages and zebra lines in all school zones and making school management accountable for the safety of children.
One N. Hanumantha Rao had filed a writ petition in 2006 following the death his daughter Rithika, who was four-and-a-half-years-old, on August 11, 2005; she was run over by a speeding truck when she was crossing the road in front of St Ann’s High School in Secunderabad.
The ACP (traffic), Hyderabad, filed a counter-affidavit stating that the had taken steps like providing signages and zebra lines in all school zones apart from posting security guards to help children cross the roads. He pointed out that traffic police had introduced one-way systems at select heavy traffic school zones.
Police officials said that they had convened a meeting at the Goshamahal stadium with the correspondents of all schools in the twin cities and officials from the school education department.
After considering all the replies, the court disposed of the petition. However, the court also inquired about the compensation paid to the parents of Rithika.
