SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 24: Being disappointed with the inaction of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the Chief Secretary (CS) of the state, a private school in Dhanbad has sought help from Prime Minister for the safety of students from local leaders of political parties who have captured the institution’s playground.
CBSE-affiliated DAV Public School Sindri, around 38 km away from the district headquarters on Sunday, shot off a letter directly to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention for the protection of students who have been compelled to do morning prayer in the classroom and stopped doing sports activities following forceful occupation of the ground by local leaders in the name of religion.
A guardian of student, Umesh Goswamy, has already filed a petition in the Jharkhand High Court seeking the safety of school kids.
Over 4500 students of Fertilizer Corporation of India (FCI) Sindri employees and 40 villagers of the region study in the school. But in 2017-18 local leaders of different political parties stopped fencing of the school’s playground and began holding social functions under the banner of the Sarna flag. Weekly ‘Bal Sabha’ has to be held on the veranda of the institution.
The land belongs to FCI Sindri and they gave it to DAV group Delhi to run a school in 1994 for wards of FCI employees and locals.
“For the last six to seven years some rowdy elements disrupt the movement of students and force school buses to drop them on the road rather than on the side of the playground, ” said principal Ashutosh Kumar who shot off a letter to the PM.
Not only regional political parties in 2019 even a minister in Raghubar Das’ government not only openly supported the rowdy elements but also stopped the local administration from taking action.
On getting the complaint, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) Delhi sought a report from the then DC of Dhanbad in 2019 and asked to take action.
The district administration conducted a probe. The Jharia Circle Officer (CO) after screening the paper reported that the land belongs to the school. But the district administration did not initiate action for the safety of students.
The school principal wrote to the PMO when the district administration did not act on the NCPCR order. The PMO replied saying that the matter comes under the subject of the state government but ar the same time directed the then Chief Secretary of Jharkhand to do needful action for the safety of students.
“Now, the school’s only hope rests on Prime Minister for the safety of students and forceful occupation of their playground by rowdy elements,” said the principal.
