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Mirror Impact: Tribal school in Khed taluka gets two tankers after it shut due to water crisis

Students were sent back on June 15 as the Khed institution missed the deadline to avail the resource

The classes at Government Adivasi Ashramshala in Kohinde Khurd in Khed taluka had come to a grinding halt — putting the education of its students in peril — owing to the impending water crisis.

The situation had shrivelled to the extent that the authorities’ request for tankers was delayed, forcing the students to return with their school gear on the first day itself. The ordeal, however, has met with some respite as the panchayat samiti has offered two tankers.

Earlier, the same samiti has denied the resource, stating that the allocation of tankers was done in May. The deadline was missed by the school, making it difficult for the samiti to spare tankers at the last moment. As a result, the necessary arrangements were not in place before school commenced. Thus, the teachers chose to shut down the school until the problem was resolved.

Nandini Awade, joint director of Tribal Research and Training Institute, said, “The teachers should have thought about it in advance and applied for the tankers eight days before the school started. The present situation could have been averted had they followed the process in advance. Nevertheless, we have communicated with the authorities from the revenue department and have resolved the issue.”

Mirror reported on this situation on June 22, following which the officials from the tribal department — who were unaware about the crisis — immediately wrote to the government, reinforcing the bid for arrangements. The block development officer (BDO) was sent a communique, stating that arrangements should be made to resolve the problem. Promptly, two tankers were sent and the school reopened from Monday.

Balasaheb Dhawale Patil, BDO of Khed panchayat samiti, said, “Initially, we did not have tankers to spare. Considering the plight of the school, the authorities concerned gave approvals and accordingly, we have decided to send tankers to school immediately.”

When this decision met with approvals, a single tanker was sent to the school. The second vehicle was dispatched after a request from teachers. School principal Ganesh Gawade said, “When the authorities from the tribal department came to know about the issue, they immediately took steps to resolve our problem. The panchayat samiti promised that it will send two tankers of 5,000 litres each, which arrived at the school. Then, we called the parents, asking them to send the kids to school from Monday. Around 182students arrived and classes commenced.”

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