20 years on, school building for girls in Handwara village awaits completion

Kupwara, Nov 18: The authorities in north Kashmir’s Handwara have failed to complete construction of a five-room building at Government Girls Middle School Wadipora even after the passage of 20 long years, causing immense hardships for the students studying here.

The residents said that before 20 years, a five-room building was sanctioned for the school to cope up with the accommodation crisis.
“Later, the construction was taken up and the brick work was completed but slab was not laid on the building. As a result, the building is deteriorating with each passing day," they said.
Locals said that at present, the school is functioning from four rooms, which tells upon the smooth functioning of the school.

“More than 150 students enrolled here are crammed together in the available rooms and students of a few classes are even taught under the open sky. During inclement weather, students of lower classes are forced to stay back. As a result, their studies get affected," they said.

An insider in the Education Department said that not only this building but over half a dozen buildings in Rajwar Education Zone were sanctioned for different schools but all had been left midway, rendering a big loss to the government exchequer.

"The buildings have been constructed by the Rural Development Department but don't know why they were left unattended after spending a handsome amount on them," he said.
Meanwhile, locals of Rajwar appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to hold a thorough inquiry into it so that the reasons why these buildings have been left midway are known.