Don't think children carry unnecessarily heavy bags, no new directive needed: Bombay High Court
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking that weight of school bags be reduced, saying it does not think children carry "unnecessarily heavy bags" as books have become thinner in tune with the times.
It said no new directive was necessary to limit the weight of school bags.
"In our times, our textbooks used to be so thick. Nowadays, books are so thin. They are also gender neutral. Books have evolved," the court said.
"Our books showed only women doing housework, today books show men sweeping the floor," a bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice N M Jamdar said.
"Our books were so heavy but we didn't get any back problems," it said.
It said it "didn't think school-going children carried unnecessarily heavy bags".
Instead, the court said, the National Council of Educational Research and Training and other publishing authorities moved in tune with the times and published thinner books.
Students needed to carry books between home and school because these books served as reference material for all they are taught in class, it said.
It directed the petitioner, activist Swati Patil, to go through NCERT website and its recommended curriculum.
In case the petitioner found any issues with the curriculum, she could approach the court again, it said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Biker injured, leopard dies in road accident near forest area in Shivamogga
Shivamogga: A leopard was killed after being hit by a motorcycle near Mandagadde in Thirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district.
According to reports, the biker was travelling from Shivamogga towards Thirthahalli when the leopard suddenly came onto the road from a nearby forest area near Mandagadde. The rider is said to have lost control of the bike and crashed into the animal.
The leopard suffered severe injuries in the impact and died on the spot. The biker also fell onto the road along with the motorcycle and sustained serious injuries. He was shifted to a hospital in Shivamogga for further treatment.
After receiving information about the incident, forest department officials, including Gajanur RFO Vinay Kumar, visited the spot and conducted an inspection.
