Bengaluru: The horrific traffic snarls on NH-35 this week, which have left thousands of schoolchildren spending hours trapped on roads and buses, have once again raised concerns over the time children are losing to their daily commute — time that could otherwise be spent learning, playing, sleeping or enjoying the simple joys of childhood.Dr Sampat Kumar Shettigar, consultant paediatrician and neonatologist, Manipal Hospital, Whitefield, said long commutes are squeezing an already packed schedule for schoolchildren. “Most children in Bengaluru spend at least two hours a day in traffic. As parents, we think they are wasting time, but children may also have some fun during the bus journey. Having said that, there are serious concerns with spending long hours on the road,” he said.“A school-going child has a tight schedule. From the time the child wakes up, the struggle is to catch the morning bus. After school, there are tuitions, extracurricular activities and homework, and many are expected to sleep by 9pm. There is hardly any free time. On top of that, a substantial part of their day is spent in traffic,” Shettigar said.Sleep is among the first casualties, he said. “Between homework and sleep, parents often compromise on sleep. Nutrition is also affected as children may not get to eat on time. Another issue associated with lack of time and routine is constipation,” he added.Dr Eesha Sharma, associate professor, department of child and adolescent psychiatry, Nimhans, said long commutes could take away an important part of childhood — unstructured time that is crucial to development. “Urban spaces deprive children of this right to play — one reason is the lack of space, and another is the amount of time children spend travelling to and from school. Children need structured learning, but more than that, they need unstructured time for discovery, free play and engagement with peers,” she said.While schools largely take care of formal learning, much of a child’s social and emotional learning and resilience-building happens outside the classroom, she said. “It is not necessarily driven by structured programmes. The younger the child, the bigger the impact, because their nervous system is much more sensitive. Older children may still find ways to engage themselves during a bus journey, but younger children need movement.”The traffic crisis is affecting adults too. Manoj Padikkal, CEO of Padikkal Travels, said three drivers resigned recently citing their inability to cope with the commute on the stretch. “Three drivers of our company resigned yesterday citing their inability to handle that stretch. The last school bus reached our campus (after the day’s work) at 9pm on Wednesday. Students and adults alike are suffering on those roads,” he said.BOXTraffic delays also eat into classroom time (Mugshots of Manila & Nooraine Fazal to be taken)At Delhi Public School-East, principal Manila Carvalho said traffic delays were eating into classroom time despite some improvement on Friday. “Traffic on Friday was not as bad as on the previous days. Still, around 80 buses arrived only around 8.20am, while the school starts at 8am. That is a serious loss of school hours,” she said. “A few years ago, it was suggested that we shift school timings, and we changed the start time from 8.30am to 8am. Do we change it again? It’s not possible to shift classes online as they are not effective. Children come in tired and anxious, and many teachers are also complaining of health concerns. We need a solution to this,” Carvalho said.Nooraine Fazal, founder of Inventure Academy, called for greater investment in mass mobility and public transport, expansion of the road network, and restrictions on heavy vehicles during school peak hours. “This area is home to some of Bengaluru’s and India’s best schools. Their parents and educators have built Brand Bengaluru, and these thousands of children will power the future of our city and country,” she said. “But children and teachers spent as much as seven hours on the road getting to school and back home today. Sadly, this is not a one-off event,” Fazal said.She also suggested stricter enforcement against wrong-side driving and other traffic violations, incentives for school buses and shared transport over individual vehicles, and the use of real mobility data and simulation-based “what-if” analysis to determine optimal school and office timings. “Potholes, blocked drains and other bottlenecks also need to be fixed urgently,” she said.
