my uttarakhand news Bureau
Dehradun, 18 Jan: Acting on the directives of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Dehradun district administration is set to demolish 79 dilapidated school buildings that pose a serious risk to the lives of children. District Magistrate Savin Bansal has taken stringent action against schools operating in these decayed structures for a long time. He has issued instructions to prepare a final report and commence demolition within seven days.
Simultaneously, systematic alternative arrangements have been made to ensure the continued education of all affected students. A sum of Rs 1 crore has been sanctioned for the demolition of these crumbling school structures. Following the DM’s strict stance, reports regarding dilapidated buildings from 100 schools were submitted within a mere 10 days. This is probably the first time that the district administration has taken such concrete steps regarding school buildings in Dehradun district that have remained in a precarious state for years.
Commenting on the development, DM Bansal noted that CM Dhami has issued strict instructions that no compromise regarding the lives of young children will be tolerated. Consequently, the process of identification, assessment, and demolition of dilapidated and unusable school buildings has been fast-tracked. After the DM adopted a tough stance over delays in reporting, the Education Department finally submitted the complete list and report of the schools to the district administration.
Under the instructions of Bansal, the Public Works Department (PWD) has been directed to prepare estimates for unusable and partially unusable (dangerous or unsafe) school buildings. An amount of Rs 1 crore has been approved for this purpose to ensure there is no delay in demolition and necessary safety measures. In Dehradun district, the entire premises of 79 schools have been found unusable, including 13 secondary and 66 primary schools. Alternative arrangements for teaching have already been established in 63 of these schools. For the remaining 16 schools where alternative arrangements are yet to be finalised, instructions have been issued to set them up immediately.
Additionally, 17 schools have been declared partially unusable, while eight schools were found to be not requiring demolition. The DM confirmed that immediate demolition proceedings will be initiated for schools deemed entirely unusable. In schools where alternative teaching arrangements are not yet in place, the demolition will proceed only after such arrangements are secured. For partially unusable buildings, necessary repairs and restrictions will be implemented in accordance with safety standards. Bansal emphasised that the safety of children is the topmost priority and no educational activities will be conducted in risky buildings. The administration aims to carry out this action in a time-bound, transparent, and accountable manner.
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