A young school boy used to struggle to reach to school on time. He did not have the luxury of a school bus or private transport. Even though his school was within walking distance, he had to take a detour of about two kilometre to avoid crossing a railway track that ran through the area.
That was case for 11-year-old Nayan Sinha and 200 of his fellow schoolmates and neighbours who stay in Unnao, a small town in Uttar Pradesh.
Sinha, who had been warned against crossing the railway tracks on foot by his mother, finally, was fed up with the situation. He decided to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last September, explaining the situation, said an article in The Indian Express.
“I never cross the railway tracks as my parents have asked me not to. But the alternate route is much longer, so I reach school late and get punished on most days," Sinha told IE.
"In September last year, without informing anyone, I posted the letter to the Prime Minister. I wrote about how I have to walk extra to reach school,” he added.
The Class VII student said that he had forgotten about the letter, until a couple of days ago when received a reply from the divisional engineer, Northern Railways, saying that his application had been sent to Modi's office.
The perils of Unnao boy, who crosses Railway tracks for school, forces PM to step in https://t.co/MeJw2BGppzpic.twitter.com/wEbWOHKFix
— News Nation (@NewsNationTV) February 2, 2016
But the PM's letter, which has asked the Railway Ministry to 'intervene', is meeting with a lot of roadblocks.
According to the IE article, the Senior divisional commercial manager (Northern Railways) has explained that construction of a new railway crossing or over-bridge requires an approval from the state government as well as the Railway Ministry.
Hoping for the best, Sinha's father is now expecting some action, now that the problem has come under the public eye.
"The over-bridge will not only help the school children, but also the sick and the elderly," he said.
