Ranchi, April 24: Thousands of schoolchildren thronged the major thoroughfares of the city this morning disrupting traffic as the second version of the School Chale Hum Abhiyan campaign began in the state capital.

Chief minister Madhu Koda led the human chain to spread the message of universal education. The chain, which was earlier formed on both sides of the road, was later restricted to only one, when private school buses experienced problems while on their way to the Old Hazaribagh Road.

Near the overbridge, the road remained chock-a-block with office goers and school buses finding it hard to traverse through the road. In the process, several school buses had to change routes, while students felt the heat.

A Class XII student of Loreto Convent, Rita Kumari, said they were caught in a traffic jam near Hotel Yuvraj Palace.

“I do not know the cause but it took us almost 20 minutes before we started moving,” she said.

Some students said there was a huge jam near the overbridge and Sujata Chowk at 8.30 am for almost 30 minutes.

“We reached school quite late. There was a huge crowd waiting to welcome chief minister Madhu Koda,” said a Class VI student of St Xavier’s School, Suresh Kumar.

At the function, Koda himself enrolled as many as 13 students at Pahari Tola Balak Madhya Vidyalaya in the state capital. He entered the names of eight fresh students to be admitted in Class I.

“The state government is committed to ensure that the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan becomes a success. More bridge schools for dropouts and for those who have never gone to school would be opened up in the near future. Working children would be the main focus of these schools where teachers will hold classes according to the timings set by students,” said the chief minister.