Mumbai
Sources have claimed that the garden is a perfect spot for holding periodic sessions on traffic rules for school children
Updated : Mar 13, 2018, 06:30 AM IST
The 'traffic garden' at Colaba, which has been created to inform the youth about traffic rules, is being underutilized. While the traffic garden belongs to the Mumbai Traffic police, the Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) is reponsible for its maintenance.
Sources have claimed that the garden is a perfect spot for holding periodic sessions on traffic rules for school children. However, the authorities do not take any initiative. Instead, they wait for schools to approach them.
“Most of the time, the traffic garden remains under utilised. Currently, when we are discussing the School Bus Policy, a lot can be done for teaching school kids and even school bus drivers about road safety,” said an official from the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
The gates of the traffic garden was locked when DNA checked it. The garden, which has been existing for about 25 years now, has proper pathways, lanes, traffic signals, bumpers, zebra crossings, junctions, and other traffic signs.
“School children come in the morning and afternoon hours when the garden is shut. On an average, only 10-15 school groups use the traffic garden in a month,” said Nitin Dossa of WIAA.
Moreover, experts have claimed that the traffic garden is poorly maintained and requires upkeep. They have opined that the state Education Department can easily spend a meagre sum of Rs 1 lakh annually for the garden's maintenance and also urge the city schools to use the garden for educating their students.