SRA kids want school, soon

Updated on: Thursday, January 06, 2011

Over 500 people staged a protest outside a school building in Chandivli on Tuesday to reopen it, a demand they have been voicing for two years now. Residents of Sandesh Nagar, a slum rehabilitation colony for people ousted from Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli, have been appealing for the school to be opened, but the institution is caught in a tussle over who will run it.

Residents say they asked the BMC to run the school, but their MLA Naseem Khan wanted to hand it to a trust. We want the civic body to run it so it is affordable for all. "Currently, our kids have to travel 3 km to school", said resident Abdul Razzaq, whose 13-year-old son Ijaaz added it is tiring and he prefers a nearby school. Under slum rehabilitation rules, a colony with over 100 residential units must have a balwadi, welfare centre and a society office. As Sandesh Nagar has more than 12,000 units, it was decided to build a big school.

Actor Shabana Azmi, who led the protest with members of her NGO Nivara Suraksha Samiti said," Residents had a right to decide who should run it." Activist Anil Galgali adds, "In 2009, after a meeting with revenue and education ministers, it was decided to hand the school to the BMC. But after Khan intervened, things stood still." Khan said that he had only suggested a trust run it as there was a delay by the BMC in taking over. "If the civic body starts the school immediately, why will I have a problem", Khan said.

SRA kids want school, soon

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