Jajpur: The Narasingha Chaudhury High School, established in 1945 at Jajpur Road in this district, is presently struggling with a slew of problems. A vast portion of the school’s land has been encroached while a large number of teachers’ posts are lying vacant.
The school was set up by Zamindar Nrusingha Chaudhury to ease the hardships of students of Jajpur town who had to travel to Cuttack to pursue their education.
The school owns 17.46 acres of land. However, the majority of it has been occupied by some non-Odias while local residents have set up shops. This has led to the decrease in size of the school’s playing field. Earlier district-level football and cricket tournaments were held on the playground, but now it is not possible because of the widespread encroachment.
In 2013, the then headmistress of Narasingha Chaudhury HS Sanjukta Mohapatra had lodged a complaint at the Jajpur Sub- Collector’s office, urging the administration to evict the encroachers. The Sub-Collector had started the process of eviction, but till date no fruitful development has taken place. Instead, the number of encroachers has increased.
In the evenings, the encroached land turns into a haven for anti-socials and drug peddlers. People are seen openly consuming liquor on the encroached land. There has been some police action, but not enough to get the illegal settlers evicted.
Shortage of faculty is another problem which is taking its toll on the school’s reputation. This has resulted in parents opting for private schools for their wards.
Meanwhile, former president of school managing committee Battakrushna Bal, social activist Sujata Parida, alumni Ashok Kumar Rout and villagers urged the administration to take steps to evict the encroachers and fill up the vacant posts. They have threatened agitation and a sit-in demonstration in front of the Tehsildar’s office if their demands are not met.
When contacted, Vyasanagar Tehsildar Niranjan Behera said, that a case has already been slapped against the encroachers. Soon the eviction drive would be launched, he added.
PNN