Read On the Way: Pune Auto-rickshaw Drivers To Keep Books, Aims To Encourage Reading Among Children – News18
Several autorickshaw drivers have decided to keep books and booklets in their vehicles, for both children and older passengers.(Representative Image)
The president of the Women’s Autorickshaw Union, Soni Shendge, who has been driving an autorickshaw for the last one year said that she has a collection of books in English and Marathi
The auto-rickshaw drivers of Pune launched an unique campaign on Saturday attempting to encourage passengers especially children to read books instead of being hooked to their mobile phones. The initiative comes at a time when the Pune Book Festival hosted by the National Book Trust began on Saturday.
As per an Indian Express report, several auto-rickshaw drivers have decided to keep books and booklets in their vehicles, for both children and older passengers.
The president of the Women’s Autorickshaw Union, Soni Shendge, who has been driving an autorickshaw for the last one year said that she has a collection of books in English and Marathi. She and her husband, who also drives an autorickshaw, are a part of the campaign.
In a conversation with Express about how she carried books on the lives of Chhatrapati Shivaji and BR Ambedkar, Shendge said, “I educate children about Ambedkar’s struggles for water and the challenges he encountered in his life.”
She also said that the internet distances people, particularly children, away from books and “the real world”.
The more they read, the more educated they will become. Am I right?” Shendge added while asking a child who was sitting with his mother in the back of her autorickshaw.
An auto-rickshaw driver from Vishrantwadi, Pramod Naiknaware said that previously he used to give books and newspapers to his older passengers, however not many people were interested.
He further said, as quoted by Indian Express, “I knew that senior citizens read newspapers more than people of any other age group. Thus I started keeping newspapers for them but over the time, even they stopped reading them. So I stopped offering.”
Due to financial difficulties Naiknaware was left with the only option of running an autorickshaw to make a living.
However he does not want his sons, who are currently school-goers, to take up his profession. He also said that Covid affected their financial stability and their studies.
“I reached out to the school for support, and now one of my children receives free education, while the other receives some concession,” the auto-rickshaw driver added.
In another case, Gopal Bandal from Katraj spoke about how mobile phones had replaced books in the last ten years He said that for academic discussions and updates, his children’s school relies on WhatsApp groups. However he said that finds it extremely ineffective.
He stressed on the importance of education and thereby said, “I studied up to Class 10. There is a common perception that auto drivers are troublemakers. However, efforts like this campaign will also change the misconceptions in society.”
Bandal, who is also a part of the campaign, said that auto-rickshaw drivers will be exchanging books to keep in their vehicles. Expressing his commitment to continue the campaign, he said that it was a temporary idea that came up in our minds, but he he looks forward to carry it ahead.
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