FROM OUR STAFF CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG, Nov 2: Thirty odd crores of money spent to complete the mammoth campus of the Jawahar vodaya Vidhalaya (JNV) Mawphlang in East Khasi Hills District has turned out to be a futile exercise and students of the centrally established school are the sufferers.
Due to the technical objections raised by the Meghalaya Pollution Control Board and department of Public Health Engineering (PHE), the JNV could not shift to the campus that was completed six years ago.
Reason attributed for the objection are on the possible contamition of the Greater Shillong Water Supply Reservoir which is the source of potable water supply to Shillong city and its suburbs, a source privy to developments. Although the School authorities have indicated that they are installing water and waste cycle plant to allay all fears of pollution, the MPCB and PHE insisted on a written assurance from the JNV or authorities concern.
The source said, “Since the higher posts in the vodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS- The body that runs the JNVs) are transferable, it is difficult to give in writing lest the next incumbent(s) ignore and fail to live up with the assurance.”
The wish to move to the permanent campus is overriding the staffs and the students, with whom The Sentinel spoke to, even as they pondered on what deter the two State agencies to object the construction, right at the time when the master plan was proposed to the government.
The Central Public Work Department (CPWD) is the agency that executed the project in the twenty odd acres of land doted by Hima Mawphlang. The structures within the campus looks like haunted houses with glass panes broken ,electricity gadgets stolen and wild vegetation overtaking the sight of a campus that could have been an envy to all.
That is not all. It’s the students who have to face the worst brunt. Their classes are run in ramshackle and temporary structures and are housed in the congested four walls of the abandoned offices within the Mawphlang Block development Office premises. Moreover, the school that has intake capacity of 80 students per year has to cut down the numbers for lack of proper class rooms and accommodation.