Seven-year-old student complains about poor road conditions to Mau district magistrate

Samra Naz, a student of a private school in Ward 17 of the Mau municipal area, had reached the district headquarters with her father, dressed in her school uniform.

VARANASI: A seven-year-old Class I student walked into the district magistrate’s Janata Darbar in Mau on Monday morning with a complaint of her own — the poor condition of the road to her school was making her daily journey difficult, leaving children injured and their uniforms soiled. Samra Naz, a student of a private school in Ward 17 of the Mau municipal area, had reached the district headquarters with her father, dressed in her school uniform. During the daily public hearing, DM Anand Vardhan noticed the little girl and asked why she had come. When he learnt that she had arrived with a complaint, he spoke to her separately and patiently heard her concerns. Samra told the DM that she travelled to school by auto but struggled because of the damaged approach road. She said she and other students often suffered injuries when the auto passed over the uneven stretch, while mud and slush frequently dirtied their uniforms, inviting the ire of teachers and school authorities. She urged the administration to repair the road at the earliest. Vardhan directed officials to inspect the stretch and initiate necessary action. He assured Samra that her complaint would be verified through the departments concerned and that the road’s condition would be checked without delay. According to Vardhan, Samra is a resident of Ward 17, where around 25 metres of the route to the school is kutcha and in poor condition. The stretch requires repairs to make daily travel safer for children. The DM said the locality falls under the municipal board and that the appropriate agency would take up the work after inspection. Samra also told officials that children often stumbled on the broken road, while mud and slush soiled their uniforms, leading to scolding at school. Her plea drew the administration’s attention. Recently, a four-year-old KG student, Ayesha Raj, appealed to Barabanki district magistrate Ishan Pratap Singh in a video to get the road near her home repaired, saying large potholes fill with dirty rainwater and make it difficult for her to travel to school. Standing on the road she uses to reach school, Ayesha said, “DM uncle, please get the road near our house repaired. There are very big potholes. Dirty rainwater collects here. It is very difficult to travel on this road.” Taking note of the issue after it surfaced, the DM said SDM Nawabganj Gunjita Jaiswal would be sent to inspect the spot.