Surat: Scores of children celebrated the Universal Children's Day on Tuesday by presenting a Children’s Charter of Demands to local authorities and also other stakeholders demanding that steps be taken to make Surat a child-friendly city.Facilitated by Smart City Knowledge Centre (CFSCKC), Surat, a joint initiative of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Unicef, the charter stresses on having a ‘salamat’ (safe), ‘swachchh’ (clean), ‘shikshit’ (educated) ‘saksham’ (empowered) and ‘sabka (for all) Surat for children. The charter makes 55 demands under different categories like ‘demand for my city’, ‘demand for my neighbourhood’, demand for my education’, ‘demand for my health’ and ‘demand for my safety’. The issues raised by children pertain to traffic management, cleanliness, waste segregation, safe public transport, installation of CCTV cameras in high risk areas, anti-bullying measures, disaster management training, campaign against substance abuse, medical camps, skill centres, waterlogging etc.Thirteen-year-old Jay, a resident from Adajan, was concerned about safe transport for children. He said, “When we have pink autorickshaws for women, why can’t we have white autorickshaws for children to travel to schools? People will know they are carrying children.”Fifteen-year-old Tasneem, a resident of Limbayat, complained that her area was unsafe because of incidents like thefts and rape. “We need more chowkis and strict action by police against criminals. The girls must be given self-defence training.”Sixteen-year-old Payal, a resident of Udhna, wanted skill development facilities for girls. “Anganwadi should run classes in beauty parlour, mehndi, English and computers,” she said.Mayor Dr Jagdish Patel accepted the Charter of Demands from the children

Stay updated with all the Latest Surat headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.