Riyaz Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 16 : Mohammad Azan is still not ready to accept the unpleasant truth that his twin friends—Dolu and Bolu are no longer going to giggle and play with him.
On the way to tuitions, everyday Dolu and Bolu used to crack some new jokes to make their friends laugh. However, fate changed everything on Tuesday morning when a roaring Jhelum river took the lives of the duo along with their mother in a boat capsize accident.
Speaking to the news agency twelve-year-old Azan says that Tahir Fayaz and Mudasir Fayaz (Dolu and Bolu) were younger to him. “But there was not a single day when they would not make me and my all friends laugh during a brisk walk to tuitions. We used to call them Dolu and Bolu because they were alike in height and shape” he said.
Dearth of educational institutes in Gandabal locality
In Gandabal locality, only one government primary school is functional with locals saying that the ‘inadequate and poor infrastructure’ prompts them to send their wards to other places and cross-river to pursue education.
An official source said that the government primary school in Gandabal was established in year 2011 and since then have been demanding upgradation of school. “In a recent Back to Village (B2V) program, people have demanded upgradation of school. The school has the state land available but has not been upgraded. ”
“The school is being operated from three classrooms wherein only two are being used for teaching purposes and one is being used to serve Mid Day Meals to the students,” the official said.
The official also said that the school currently has 87 students and six teachers.
Reason of sending students cross-rivers for education
The locals of Gandabal informed that in view of tough competition to provide quality education and good studying environment to their wards, they send them to other areas wherein quality of education in government or centrally sponsored schools is ‘far better’ in comparison to the local school.
One of the locals Altaf Ahmad said, “Recently, one of the students of the primary school in Gandabal has taken discharge from the school in view of dearth of infrastructure and has got enrolled in Kendriya Vidyalaya No-1 in Batwara.”
Ahmad further said that in the locality, another student was enrolled in KV No-1 but decided to take admission in the government school of Gandabal. “But in a short span of time, he chooses to return back to KV because of infrastructural issues quality of education.”
Another local of Gandabal, Ahmad Tariq said that the area has always been ignored by the administration of providing basic infrastructures and facilities.
“Majority of the locals in Gandabal locality belong to BPL category. Ironically, there is no other government school in our locality and for better and quality education, we have to send our wards cross-river to pursue education,” Tariq said.
Pertinently, the nearest higher secondary of Gandabal is government girls’ higher secondary Rajbagh and government boys higher secondary Jawharnagar.
Meanwhile, Director of School Education Kashmir (DSEK) was not available for his comments.
