Madhya Pradesh: Surprise! School with no power connection gets Rs 46K bill in Hatpipliya

Hatpipliya (Madhya Pradesh): While the state government is trying hard to provide quality education to each and every child through the “My School-Smart School” campaign in Dewas district, one of the government primary schools in Hatpipliya Assembly constituency has a different story to narrate.

Having an electricity connection is a prerequisite for receiving an electricity bill but truth is stranger than fiction. A school in Baroli village that falls under Devgarh Sankul does not have electricity connections yet the Electricity Department has recently sent an electricity bill of Rs 46,791 recently to the school.

School teachers sharing their plight claimed that the state government’s resolution to conduct smart classes in about 1,700 primary and secondary schools under the “My School-Smart School” campaign in Dewas district started drawing a positive response thanks to the active participation of public representatives, citizens and teachers, but we are still running in the dark.

Teachers also claimed that the electricity pole near the school was bent and is a looming danger for school kids and said that the administration must pay attention towards it.

Defunct handpump causing problems

Even though there is a handpump close to the school but it is lying defunct and school kids have to fetch drinking water on their own throughout the year. School teachers claimed that they have written letters to all the responsible to draw their attention to resolve their grievances, but to no avail so far.

When contacted Devgarh sankul principal Ravindra Kumar Malviya said that there are many schools like this in our Sankul that are getting electricity bills despite not having any electricity connection. We lodged complaints several times with the electricity board, but till now no solution has been found.