Schools, booksellers in cahoots, allege Dabwali residents

Our Correspondent

Sirsa, March 27

Administrative officials are so engrossed in elections that they seem to have turned a blind eye towards their other duties. With school admissions underway, parents have been rushing to enrol their children, which also means an increased demand for books and uniforms. This tension among parents is being exploited in some booksellers and private schools in Dabwali.

Temporary booths have been set up in front of schools, where books, uniforms and shoes are being sold, but no bills are being provided. Instead, digital slips are being handed out without any contact information or address of the depot. This has raised suspicions of collusion between schools and booksellers.

Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Dabwali, recounted purchasing books for three classes from a booth on Bathinda road. He was given a paper receipt and was asked to pay Rs13,761 in cash. He had to pay the amount as the school authorities directed him to the booth. Apart from the booth, there are no other shops in the city that are currently selling those books. Gurpreet said that books for LKG cost Rs 2,731, for Class II Rs 5,170 and for Class IV Rs 5,860.

Laxman Dass, Block Education Officer of Dabwali, said that the books cannot be sold without bills. He said the field teams would be alerted and an investigation would be conducted. If some sort of illegal activity is found, action would be taken against the relevant parties. Consumers should remain vigilant and such incidents should be reported to the department, he added.

Speaking on the issue, the book depot manager said that it took 10 minutes per consumer for billing. If they were to enter additional details such as the child’s name, mobile number or address to the receipt, it would take almost half an hour. Therefore, all these details were not included in the receipt. He said they were not doing anything wrong. He also said that scanners were available and consumers could pay through their bank accounts. He said he was unaware about the case of Rs13,761 being paid in cash.

Consumers Mohit, Angrez, Bhajan and Suresh indicated that school books were available at only one shop in the city, suggesting collusion between the school and the bookseller, leaving consumers forced to bear the consequences.

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