Chikkamagaluru: The Devaraj Arasu Backward Classes Welfare Department Girls’ Residential School in Kaimara, N.R.Pura town, has now come under scrutiny after a viral video depicted how its students were made to study under a solar street lamp, giving local residents a chance to express their dissatisfaction on the lack of electricity at the government residential school in the N.R. Pura taluk of Chikmagalur.
With SSLC and second PUC exams round the corner, parents are now beginning to get more anxious about the power cuts and how they would affect their student’s ability to study.
While the power cuts are mainly due to load shedding measures, they have forced students to use the solar street lamps of the school compound which means they study outside in the late hours of the evening, affecting their safety and well-being.
This clearly calls for a little more accountability from the side of the government with regard to the issue. The Energy Minister, K.J. George, holds responsibility for Chikkamagaluru district, while the Sringeri assembly constituency represented by MLA T.D. Rajegowda is responsible for the NR Pura taluk.
Local villagers now demand that the government immediately address the issue by installing Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems in the residential school, which is said to accommodate over 65 students who are girls. This is a problem that has been persisting for the past three months, even with hostel staff having submitted requests for resolution.
Responding to the concerns, Somasekhar, Deputy Director of the Backward Classes Welfare Department, stated that the hostel, being a new one, makes use of rural electric lines.
Efforts are being made to change this to urban power lines within a month, so that students can then enjoy an uninterrupted power supply.
Meanwhile, students can make use of the UPS battery in the dormitory, to enjoy a power backup that can last for about five hours. However, the recent power outages created problems in charging, which led to the problem here.
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