Taking undue pride in spotting Mercedes, Audis, BMWs, and the like on the roads frequently, the elite of Ludhiana may have a lot to worry about when it comes to owning high-end luxury vehicles, thanks to the latest dangerous trend catching up with the youngsters in the city.
Flaunting the swanky, ultra-luxurious vehicles of their parents, the schoolchildren in Ludhiana, the city of riches, are now organising “Car Rallies” to celebrate class-12 farewells. These “farewell parties” on roads witness cavalcades of high-end vehicles racing on highways, with underage students behind the wheels. Their peers lean out from the windows, dance through the sunroofs, click selfies, and brazenly flout traffic rules, putting their lives at stake. Some in the videos are even seen bursting firecrackers from moving vehicles.
To make matters worse, the videos of these rallies are then uploaded on social media with songs glorifying weapons and openly challenging the police. In a bid to compete with other schools, the youngsters also flaunt which luxury vehicles were part of their rally.
For instance, a video of the “Farewell rally” by students of a private school was uploaded on Instagram with lyrics playing in the background that glorify weapons and throw an open challenge to the police.
Recently, videos of car rallies by students, purportedly from Guru Nanak Public School (GNPS), Kundan Vidya Mandir (KVM), Greenland Public School, and others, went viral. Despite the reckless trend spreading, with several such rallies held recently, the Ludhiana Police hasn’t been able to do much, and neither the schools nor parents have been contacted yet by the police for counseling or to prevent such rallies in the future.
Reminiscing about the times when school farewells used to be simpler affairs without flashy displays of wealth, the viral videos have invited many comments from city residents demanding action against parents for providing vehicles to their underage children, questioning where Punjab youths were heading.
Speaking to The Indian Express, a pass out from Green Land Public Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar Bypass, said, “Ours was probably the first such farewell rally which we had organized last year just for fun. Students from other schools followed it after seeing our videos. Vehicles including Thar, Audi, MG Hector, etc., were part of it. It is just a way to show that we live in Ludhiana where it’s common to have such luxury vehicles. We never meant to break any rules.”
Putting the onus on parents and police to stop such activities, principals said that they were not responsible for what students do outside school premises and that parents were carelessly handing vehicles to their minor children.
Gurbhej Singh Nagi, principal, GNPS, Sarabha Nagar, said, “Our school simply does not endorse such rallies. The onus completely lies on parents. Police should immediately impound those vehicles which were part of such rallies. Seeing the videos, each car was worth at least Rs 30 lakh. Who is responsible for this, if not parents? We were never aware of any such rally by our students until we saw the videos. Not just our school, but students from other schools were also a part of it as they all meet at tuitions and coaching centers and become friends. We had an official farewell party in the school premises which included a cultural program, but parties outside the school are being held in high-end clubs and pubs. We are counseling parents via WhatsApp groups, but it is only through them that children are getting money to organize such lavish farewells.”
AP Sharma, principal, Kundan Vidya Mandir (KVM), said that there was no way that school authorities could get to know of such rallies in advance as students gather at a distant location. “This trend has been widely noticed this year, and we will communicate to parents to not indulge in this practice. Who would be responsible if any accident happens ahead of their final board exams? And these rallies are not of any particular school. Children from all schools mingle at tuitions and private coaching centers. The schools cannot be blamed for this,” said Sharma.
Baldeep Pandher, principal, Green Land Public Senior Secondary School, said that she was not in a position to comment on the issue. “Only the school management can say anything on this,” she said.
Varinder Singh Brar, DCP (traffic), Ludhiana Police, said that he had “initiated strict action” after seeing the videos. “We are writing to all schools instructing them to ensure no such rally is organized. We have also put messages on our official social media handles that parents should not give vehicles to children,” said Brar. He said that 3169 challans for underage driving were issued last year by Ludhiana traffic police. Only 21 such challans have been issued this year as of February 7.
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