Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Due to shortage of funds and engineers, the repair of dilapidated school buildings in Bhopal district has yet to begin though an order has been issued by district collector to this effect.
In the wake of the recent collapse of a school building in Sagar earlier this month, Bhopal collector Kaushalendra Vikram Singh issued an urgent directive to District Project Coordinator (DPC) to identify similar at-risk buildings and commence construction work immediately. Acting on these instructions, the Bhopal DPC identified 181 school buildings in dilapidated condition. However, despite inspections by DPC and his team, the construction work has yet to begin due to shortage of engineers and funding.
As a result, the collector transferred responsibility for construction work to area SDMs. They include Berasia, Phanda Gramin and Old Bhopal.
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However, even after this reassignment, no substantial progress has been made. Officials have only conducted inspections of buildings but no further action has been taken to start the work. In some schools, the buildings have already started to crumble, forcing children to make alternative arrangements for seating.
Bhopal DPC Omprakash Sharma told Free Press, “We had inspected these schools earlier. Construction work has started in a few school buildings. We have submitted the letters to the collector, mining officials and other concerned officials,” he added.
