Private schools in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Khadki areas opened Monday amid traffic confusion outside the school premises. Traffic police personnel were not present and the schools did not assign anyone to help manage the traffic. There was chaos on roads in Pimpri Camp,Akurdi,Bhosari,Chinchwad,Sant Tukaram Nagar,Nehrunagar,Ajmera and Nigdi as school vans and buses carrying children were on the roads in large numbers. The jam on the road which links Bhosari MIDC and Sant Tukaram Nagar area caused many residents to get late for work. The D Y Patil Public School,which shifted to a new building on Phulenagar road beyond YCM hospital,saw chaos between 7 am and 8 am. As many as 1,200 students and their parents reached the school premises at 7 am,resulting in face-to-face traffic on the narrow,dirty road. Since there was no traffic police and the school had not assigned any personnel to manage the traffic,the jam lasted for nearly an hour on this stretch. There was a similar situation after school got over, said a parent. Earlier,the school timing for primary students was 1 pm. But,now all students will come at the same time at 7.15 am,so there will be a jam everyday, said the parent. However,principal Mrudula Mahajan said,In a week,we will streamline things. Our buses will not be parked outside,as we will allow them inside the premises. Mahajan said the problem occurred because many parents turned up to drop their wards as it was the first day of school. In Pimpri Camp,there are 10 schools and children from across Pimpri-Chinchwad flock there. The narrow roads witnessed traffic snarls for the better part of the day. In Khadki,chaotic traffic conditions prevailed outside St Joseph boys and girls schools as vehicles parked on the roads outside. It was widely known that schools would start from June 17,then why didnt the traffic police post their personnel outside the schools early in the morning? asked a parent.
