School children road survey competition

By Devina Karnik

The Bala Janagraha civic fest competition was held on the 21st of October, 2015 at the St.Andrew’s Girls School, Pune. The theme of the competition was, ‘Our Roads-the tender survey’. There were ten enthusiastic groups participating in the competition. Each group represented a school. The competition was judged by two esteemed personalities, Mr. Amit Singh of POSA Foundation and Mr. Kamlesh Sonawane of Sahyadri Nature Foundation.

Students of The Orbis School, Keshavnagar in Mundhwa, Pune bagged the first position. The school was represented by a group of eight ebullient and bright students all studying in class 8. The students surveyed the Keshavnagar road which leads to their school. The road has been in a clapped out condition since a long time. This has caused inconvenience not only to the students and faculty members of the school, but also to the residents living in that area.

How the research was conducted:-

1. The students first started their research by measuring the road dimensions, which they found out to be as 270m (length) and 15ft (width).

2. The students then formed a questionnaire consisting of eleven questions and approached twelve families residing in the nearby buildings, who also travelled by the Keshavnagar road on daily basis.

3. The result of the survey helped the students highlight the major problems of the road that caused inconvenience to the residents. The major problems as told by the residents are:- a) No streetlights. b) Garbage accommodation in heaps on the road. c) Improper water sewage system. d) Numerous puddles. e) No lane markings. f) No pavements. g) No signboards. h) The road is in a crude and imperfect condition.

4. The students then got together and brainstormed for solutions and came up with creative solutions which may help counter the problems. The solutions proposed by the students were:-
a) Requesting the Government in charge for the road to be cemented and setting up lane markings, signboards and garbage bins.
b) Installing solar panels which can generate electricity for the streetlights and houses. This way, there would be no chance for electricity consumption.
c) If the road is properly metalled, it can be connected with the main road which will connect it further to a railway station. So, people won’t have to travel much and this way people can save on fuel.
d) Requesting the government in charge to build a hospital, shopping store or a Government school instead of a dog park which requires four acres of land.
e) Establishing drip irrigation facilities so that water is saved. f) Make separate tracks for cyclists.

5. The students then compiled all their research in a Project report and presented it to the judges on the day of the competition. To make themselves more presentable and dynamic, the students also made charts and explained their research to the judges.

“Each group member was assigned tasks according to his or her caliber. We stayed at school for long after our classes got over and worked on our project together. The judges rated us based on the Project report and presentations. We were applauded by saying that our solutions were very innovative. Co-operation between the group members and support from our inspiring teachers lead us to success. We really hope that our hard work pays off and that the situation of the road develops soon so that we won’t have to face this inconvenience anymore.” says Divya Kumhar, the group leader.

The teacher who lead the group, Mrs Veronica said that,” Participating in this competition has been a very good experience for the children as they got a chance to voice their opinion in public and in front of such esteemed people. This also made them more aware of the problems faced by our city and it is a great start in making these children responsible citizens of our country. It also put to test their co-operative and creative skills. The children are more geared up and look forward to the second stage of this competition.”

The students are currently on hold to submit their project report to the Sarpanch of the area concerned. They awaited patiently and hope that best actions take place in the betterment of the road and to the earliest.

(Devina Karnik is a student of Fergusson College, Pune)

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