New Delhi: Nearly 200 school children and their parents carried out a protest march in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandupur village on Tuesday (August 11) to demand the construction of a paved road to their school.The Gen Alpha students (those born after 2010) marched with the national flag and banners to the district collectorate, where the police tried to stop them from reaching the district magistrate’s office.Protesters told the media that the demand for a proper road was not new. They said that the unpaved road leading to the school became difficult to traverse in the monsoon season.“In times of heavy rainfall, this route transforms into a muddy path, complicating access for students traveling to school and for residents needing to transport ill individuals to medical facilities. Additionally, an alternative route previously utilized by the community has been closed off by the Forest Department, further restricting their access to the area,” a parent accompanying the students quoted by the Hindu said.People participating in the protest said that after a lot of effort to get the road fixed, the authorities had placed soil on the road as an interim measure. However, with the onset of rains, the road reverted to its muddy state.According to the Hindu, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Abhishek Kumar and Circle Officer Yashpal Singh attempted to stop the students from reaching the DM’s office. However, the students continued their march.Dipke endorses the protestCockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke endorsed the protest saying, “Salute to these kids who are fighting for their future! All they are asking for is a road to their school. Is that too much to ask after nearly 80 years of Independence? This should have been done decades ago. This 15th August, let’s pledge to work for the children and schools of rural India.”The protest came a day after Dipke launched a new campaign focussing on school education called ‘School Thik Karo’. “We have made a new Parliament, a new PM house. Why have we not been able to build new schools in our villages? Do we not consider the children of farmers and labourers the future of our country?” Dipke asked while launching the campaign on Monday.