Dehradun : Eleven years down the line of achieving statehood, the authorities that be have not been able to provide drinking water facilities in 1028 schools, while over 330 of them do not have toilet facilities.
And this is when both the major political parties in Uttarakhand, the Congress and the BJP, which have provided successive governments in the state, are going to the vidhan sabha elections in Feb next year, on their past performance, vis-Ã -vis development works undertaken.
This is despite the fact that the apex court of the country had taken note of the non-availability of the basic amenities of drinking water and toilets in the schools and the Uttarakhand government had filed an affidavit that the facilities would be provided by November end this year.
And it is not only drinking water and toilets that the schools in the state, specially those catering to the children from the rural areas, are crying for.
There are over 9370 schools which do not have electricity and the children have to bear with the vagaries of weather and poor light on dark cloudy days.
It is simply appalling to note that in the run up to the elections to the vidhan sabha, not only the state but central leaders of both the major political parties are asking for votes on the past performance of the governments, which has been anything but negligible, except perhaps on the corruption front.
One can but imagine the plight of the children who on a hot day have to while their time in the school without a drop of drinking water.
Most of the children in these schools have been asked to bring drinking water from their homes. And as far as answering the call of nature, the girl students in particularly are at a great predicament.
But then the political nabobs have better things in mind, liming making money, than looking into the plight of the children.
A journalist with over 40 years of experience, Jagdish Bhatt was Editor, Hill Post (Uttarakhand).
Jagdish had worked with India’s leading English dailies, which include Times of India, Indian Express, Pioneer and several other reputed publications. A highly acclaimed journalist, he was a recipient of many awards
Jagdish Bhatt, aged 72, breathed his last on 28th August 2021 at his Dehradun residence.
