Pic: Sushmita, a Class 6 student, stages a protest in the middle of the road at Alur village in Davanagere taluk on FridayDavanagere: Sanitation and road repair work Alur village, Davanagere taluk, commenced following a solo protest by 12-year-old PB Sushmita on Friday. Sushmita, a Class 6 student at Devaraj Urs Higher Primary School, lives in the village with her parents, PH Babu and N Uma.She must walk approximately 700 metres to reach her school, but the road is in a poor condition, with drains overflowing on both sides. During the rainy season, large potholes filled with muddy water mar the road, causing teachers and students to frequently fall on their way to school. Frustrated by these conditions, Sushmita staged a protest demanding proper road and sanitation. The village panchayat development officer (PDO) quickly arrived at the protest site and spoke with Sushmita. By noon, work to clear the silt from the drains began, prompting Sushmita to end her protest, said Babu. Sushmita stuck a poster reading “Fight for basic infrastructure” on a chair and sat on the ground in protest.She highlighted the potholes on the road leading to the school, which have caused her classmates and teachers to trip and fall. Sushmita demanded that the potholes be filled to ensure safe passage. She also raised concerns about the lack of clean drinking water in the village and the clogged drains.Sushmita urged local authorities to clean the drains and repair the road to ensure a safe commute to school. Babu noted that due to poor road conditions and sanitation, only 54 students are enrolled at Devaraj Urs Higher Primary School in Alur, with many students going to schools in Davanagere and nearby towns. He called on the govt and local authorities to take the issue seriously and take necessary actions.Acknowledging the girl’s solo protest, Gitte Madhav Vittal Rao, chief executive officer of zilla panchayat, Davanagere, said he has instructed the PDO concerned to clean the drains, with work already under way. He also mentioned plans to write to the relevant authorities to repair the road.
