PUNE: Parents will have to pick up and drop their children to school on Friday with transporters associated with the educational institutes deciding to join the nationwide strike called by truck owner associations.The All India Motor Transport Congress, which has called for an indefinite agitation, is protesting against rising diesel exorbitant toll charges, hefty insurance rates, GST and e-way bill burden.Some schools here have postponed their examinations because of the strike call. The Bishop’s School in a notice to the parents said, “As of this (Friday) morning, the private transporters have served notice that the drivers will be on a ‘national strike’ by withdrawing all transportation services for a day (Friday, July 20). Hence, I request you to kindly make your own transport arrangements to ferry your child to and from the school. The school buses will ply on normal routes. The unit test scheduled for Friday will be conducted in the following week.”St Mary's School said in a statement to the parents that representatives of the private transporters have verbally informed the institute they will on a strike on Friday in solidarity with the nationwide strike call. The school has also asked the parents to verify the strike call with the transporters.The statement read, “Though the school is not being officially informed by any of the transporter associations, this is to inform all those using private school transport service to make their own arrangement to drop and pick up their wards on time.”Sonali Raval, whose two children study in two schools in Camp, said, “There has been no formal intimation from the schools on the strike so far. If the school transporters join the strike, it will definitely create a chaos.”Medha Bhaskaran, another parent, said, “It will be a hectic schedule as one of my children is in the primary section and the other is in the higher section. With two different timings, I will have to make four trips.”Pratiksha Bidarahalli, whose child studies in Class IV at DAV, Aundh, said :The school has not yet informed anything about transport services. We are generally informed about any such changes.”Luxury and school bus operators from Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and the district affiliated to the Pune Bus Owners Association will not ply on Friday. The Pune District Motor Goods Transport Association, an umbrella of truck operators in the district, has also decided to be a part of the strike.

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