SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, Oct 6: In the wake of the Jharkhand High Court (HC) order, amidst tight security, the boundary wall construction of DAV Public School Rangamati Sindri playground began on Friday.
Jharia Circle Officer (CO) Ram Suman Prasad, Baliapur Block Development Officer (BDO) along with four executive magistrates reached the school in the morning and got the construction work of the playground boundary wall started.
The officials said that in four days the boundary wall construction work of the playground would be completed.
DAV Public School Rangamanti management first knocked on the door of the district administration as well as the National Child Rights Protection Commission (NCRPC) New Delhi two years ago when some anti-social elements under a political leader’s protection stopped the boundary wall construction of the playground and set up a religious place.
When the district administration did not act on the directive of NCRPC, a guardian filed a petition in the High Court demanding the protection of kids at the school.
On August 24, 2023, the Jharkhand High Court ruled in favour of DAV School and directed the Dhanbad district administration to ensure the construction of the playground boundary wall.
The land belongs to the Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI) Sindri which in 1996, on a written agreement, gave the DAV School group the land to run an institution in Sindri for students of the public sector unit (FCI) employees.
But in 2019 when the principal Dr Ashutosh Kumar began the construction of the boundary wall for the safety of students from stray cattle and anti-social elements who used to invade while students used to play during school hours, some locals stopped him from doing so, and even gave him a life threat if he ever tries that again.
The anti-social elements even began organizing Saraswati Puja and other religious functions to grab the playground of the school.
Personnel of the four police stations and their officers-in-charge were deployed on the spot to ensure the peaceful construction of the boundary wall. Principal Dr Ashutosh Kumar said that now students will feel a sense of security in the school.