Waris Fayaz
Handwara, Mar 10: Newly constructed building of Government Boys High School, Guloora in Zone Langate of Handwara has developed cracks, with the locals alleging that they had already informed the concerned department about possible use of substandard material during construction.
According to reports, the newly constructed school building which was recently handed over to the concerned department had developed major cracks.
The alleged misconduct of the education department, however, has put the lives of the staff as well as the students at risk. “Despite putting in to the knowledge of the school head, the concerned didn’t act and draw the amount to the agency”, locals alleged.
They said that it took years for completion and lakhs of rupees were spent on it but only a few months after its completion, the walls of the building developed major cracks which clearly show that substandard material was used in its construction by the construction agency.
Locals maintained that they had already informed the school head about use of sub-standard material. “Department who had responsibility to ensure the proper construction under given norms didn’t even bother to give a look at the building and the quality of the material used in its construction before making payment to the contractor,” they added.
They appealed to the Deputy commissioner Kupwara, Chief educational officer Kupwara to take note of this issue and demanded thorough investigation into the matter.
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer (CEO), Kupwara said that he has no knowledge about the matter and the concerned headmaster can give the details. He however, stated that the Roads and Buildings department is responsible for the alleged misconduct.
Asked why the department failed to inspect the work during the construction, the CEO said that the building was under construction and not handed over yet. He added that it’s a technical issue.
However, the headmistress who is having DDO powers upon being asked for her comments over the issue, dropped the call and switched off her phone.
Meanwhile, an official at Roads and Buildings (R&B) department, Handwara said that the plaster has developed a hair-line crack due to the temperature. “The project is under Defective Liability Period (DLP) and it will be repaired by tomorrow,” he said.
