Majitha foots school power bill, flays govt

Amritsar, May 20

Former Cabinet minister and MLA Bikram Singh Majithia on Sunday paid the electricity bill of Government Primary School, Kathunangal, near Amritsar, from his pocket. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had snapped the power supply of the school due to non-payment. The school falls in Majithia constituency.

He arranged about Rs 10,000 to pay the bill online and hoped that the electricity would be restored by Monday.

“The state government is in a slumber as it doesn’t care to release funds for bill payments. Intense heat wave has been going on and it is pitiable to see children studying in the open under a tree,” said Majithia in a press statement issued here.

He said the present government had closed down 800 elementary schools in state and most of them were in the border district of Amritsar. “Majitha is the most affected. I fail to understand what this government is for if it can’t provide basic facilities to schools. The Education Department must wake up from its slumber and take action,” he said.

He added during the regime of the SAD-BJP government in the state, school education was the the top priority. — TNS