School students from Sarawad village in Vijayapura district protested after they said government buses frequently fail to stop for them, making it difficult to reach their schools on time. A schoolgirl was badly hurt after a bus door closed on her hand when she was attempting to board it.
According to local reports, it happened on Monday morning when some students were waiting to travel from Sarawad to Vijayapura city to go to school. The students claimed that although they raised their hands to the approaching government buses, the vehicles did not stop to pick them up.
Just frustrated by the repeated inconvenience, students stood in front of a government bus to get it to stop. As they began boarding, the conductor apparently closed the bus door before all students had entered safely.
The fingers of a schoolgirl who was identified as Khakambi Walikar were caught in the bus door, causing injuries. The girl cried in pain as students and residents rushed to help her.
The injured student was on her way to a residential school at Kaggod when the incident occurred. Fortunately, the injury was only to her fingers, but the incident has caused alarm among parents and villagers about the safety of schoolchildren using public transport.
Students from Sarawad say this is not an isolated incident. They claim they have been faced daily with transportation problems to school because buses operating on the Jamkhandi–Babaleshwar–Vijayapura route do not stop for them.
Students say unreliable public transport means they’re forced to wait long hours to get to school, and this is affecting their learning. Parents too have voiced concern, calling for buses to stop at designated stops where schoolchildren are waiting.
Residents of the village want immediate intervention from the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and district authorities. They insist on regular bus service, timetabling and stopping on time, and action is taken if any negligence is found in connection with the incident.
The episode has once again emphasized the transportation problems for students in rural areas, where public buses are the primary means of getting to educational institutions.
But officials will review the allegations of buses not stopping for students and the injuries suffered during boarding. We expect more action after the transport authority reviews this incident.
