Pulwama, May 05: Residents of Chewa Kalan village in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district have urged the School Education Department to shift students of the Government Upper Primary School to a newly constructed building without further delay.
According to locals, students are currently attending their classes in a temporary shelter made of aluminium sheets, which becomes unbearably hot during summer.
Abdul Ahad, a resident of Chewa Kalan, said the children face extreme discomfort while studying under the tin structure.
“The heat from the aluminium sheets causes excessive sweating, leading to exhaustion. It’s not just hard for the students—teachers also struggle to conduct lessons in such conditions,” he said.
Another villager, Ghulam Mohammad Dar, said that a new building for the Super Model School Chewa Kalan had been sanctioned and construction has been ongoing for the past two years.
“Unfortunately, work has been stalled for several months now,” he said, appealing to the authorities to resume and expedite construction so students can move into the new facility.
Villagers also noted that the previous school building was located far from residential areas and vulnerable to wild animal attacks, including frequent leopard sightings.
As a result, the school was temporarily relocated to a private accommodation.
They said that the new school building was approved a couple of years ago, land was identified, and construction was initiated—but the pace of work remains sluggish.
The concerned Zonal Education Officer (ZEO) told Rising Kashmir that nearly 80 percent of the construction has been completed.
“We are actively following up with the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department to complete the remaining work,” the ZEO said, assuring that the building would be ready in a month, after which students will be shifted.
