Baramulla, Nov 25: Amid stories of death and devastation reported along the Line of Control in the last three decades of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, a new school building coming up near the ‘Zero Line’ offers hope of a better future for children desirous to study and excel in life.
What puts a fresh spotlight on the Chautali School on the LOC, which is being re-constructed under a Smridhi Seema Yojana, a component of Border Area Development Plan (BADP), is the number of years since it was devastated by a powerful quake that shook Jammu and Kashmir way back in 2005.
The school, ever since the damage caused to it, would operate from a make-shift arrangement for the last 17 years, until the Baramulla district administration this year took its reconstruction under Seema Samridhi Yojana, a welfare scheme for people residing along the Line of Control.
“The building for Chautali School on LOC is being constructed under Seema Samridhi Yojana in Uri. It is situated at zero line across the fence. The school building was badly damaged in the 2005 earthquake. Land was also not available. We demolished the old school to make way for construction,” the Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar told Greater Kashmir.
The building is being constructed at the cost of Rs 50 lakhs under Smridhi Seema Yojana while two other school buildings are constructed at the project cost of Rs 25 lakhs each.
“All the three school buildings are constructed in border area but the building for Chautali school is being constructed at zero line,” Joint Director Planning District Administration Baramulla, Muhammad Yousuf Rather said.
He said the district administration Baramulla has taken up around 20 projects (works) Rs 8.47 Crore under Smridhi Seema Yojana to fill the critical gaps in border areas.
“For education sector we have taken up three school buildings as of now worth Rs one crore,” he said.
These schools include government school Chautali, Sahoora and Lalmer in border areas of Uri.
He said there was no land available for constriction of Chautali school but the district administration decided to demolish the damaged building, clear the debris and start new constriction.
The construction of the new building for the schools will give new hopes to the students to continue their studies and excel in their life.
“After the building is made functional, the district administration will provide technologically advanced infrastructure in the school and will push for making it a school from Kindergarten to class 12th with all the advanced facilities,” Rather said.
He said the construction of the school building was not a cake walk but a very taxing job as it needs hard work to take construction material to the other side of the fence.
“The district administration made it a priority to construct these school buildings for the children living in these areas,” he said.
Meanwhile, DC Baramulla, Dr Syed Sehrish Asgar said that besides reaching out to these border areas, the district administration will also have 18 mini-DIETs in the district for capacity building (training) of teachers, 115 ICT laboratories in government schools and Kindergarten classes as well.
“We will also have Atal tinkering laboratories in schools to infuse scientific temper among the students and teachers as well,” she said.
Besides strengthening the education sector, the district administration has also focused on augmentation of infrastructure in health care institutions and other social sectors as well under Smridhi Seema Yojana