Washed away by floods last year, Jalandhar school still sans boundary wall

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, July 16

A year ago when floods wreaked havoc in Lohian block of Jalandhar district, several schools suffered major damages. The boundary walls of some schools also collapsed including that of Government Primary School (GPS), Bara Jodh Singh. A year later, nothing has changed for the school, and even the boundary wall hasn’t got built again.

The fallen bricks are lying as they were in July last year. The students have been studying without any safety measures since then. Strangely, no grant has been received for the construction of the boundary wall yet.

The school itself is situated in a desolate area, near a highway. The Tribune visited the school today and saw a stray dog roaming inside and two students present. According to the school authorities, there are 21 students in the school.

The staff informed that stray cattle also roam around in the school premises which become problematic.

The teachers said that they constantly keep checking the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the school to ensure that no unknown person enters the premises. There are two teachers in the school.

Mother of Hargun, a Class V student at the school, said she is apprehensive in sending her daughter to the school where there is no boundary wall. “I have raised the issue with the school authorities too. I really hope that the authorities will pay heed to the issue,” she said.

As per the information, a government middle school also used to run in the same premises, but it was wound up a few years ago.

Anju, in-charge of the school, said they were waiting for the grants to come. “We remain quite vigilant and ensure that the studies of students do not suffer,” she said.