Girl ‘raped’: Rewari panchayat rejects govt proposal for upgrading school

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rewari, May 6

A panchayat of 11 villages today turned down a state government’s proposal for upgrading a primary school in the district’s Suma Khera village to middle standard (Class VIII).

It resolved to launch an indefinite dharna if the government failed to upgrade the school Class XII.

The panchayat also refused to send girls studying in Class IX and X to a private school in spite of an assurance of security on the way to the school.

The panchahyat representatives submitted a memorandum of demand to Rewari DC Yash Garg.

Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma had on Thursday announced to upgrade the Suma Khera school to Class VIII, besides ensuring admission of Class IX girls in a private school in adjoining Katopuri village.

“We are not satisfied with the government’s decision, as it failed to keep in view the safety of girls studying in Class XI and above. We can neither the girls to the school Lala village nor girls want to go outside the village for studies. They had faced harassment several times en route to the school in Lala village,” said Harvinder, husband of Suma Khera sarpanch Urmila.

He said the panchayat presided over by Manohar Lal of Bhotuwas village resolved to stage an indefinite dharna in Suma Khera till the demand was not met; villagers sat on dharna after the panchayat.

“Why is the government not upgrading our primary school to the senior secondary level? As the problem is genuine, the government can relax the norms while considering out case as a special one,” Harvinder said.

HHRC puts DC on notice

The Haryana Human Right Commission (HHRC) has put DC Yash Garg on notice for 45 girls of Suma and Katopuri villages dropping out of. A girl was raped en route to her school in Lala village on April 18. The commission has asked the DC to submit his reply by May 27.

JD(U) MP raises matter in Rajya Sabha 

New Delhi: Drawing attention to an incident of rape of a schoolgirl on way to school at Lala village in Rewari district, JD(U) MP Kehkashan Parween on Friday demanded a committee should be sent to help girls who had stopped going to school. “Fortunately, these girls are continuing their studies at home with the help of a teacher. However, a committee should be sent to look into the grievances of these girls,” she said during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha. “On one hand, the government talks about ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ and, on the other, girls are dropping out of school in the absence of security,” she said. tns