Chirala: Locals demand protection of school from encroachers

Chirala: The locals of the Indira Colony of Ramannapet in Vetapalem mandal staged a protest on Friday, demanding protection of the mandal primary school from the clutches of encroachers and nuisance makers.

The Chunduru Adiseshamma Mandal Parishad Primary School, was once a renowned school strived to increase literacy in the oppressed community and fondly known as Gopala Rao School.

The locals Meesala Venkaiah, Rapuri Venkatarao, Atla Venkata Narayana Reddy and others explained that the MPP School at Indira Colony is the source of education for children from poor families, mainly from SCs and STs. Though the school exists for decades, it lacks infrastructure, including the compound wall. Thus the miscreants are using it for illegal activities like alcohol drinking, gambling, prostitution etc, while the people backed by the politicians encroaching on the premises. They said that some of the villagers have constructed houses and shops on the school premises while some others are using the ground as home to cattle. Vexed by the dominant behaviour of the encroachers and miscreants, and inaction from local officials, they staged a protest at the school demanding the district officials to respond and take action to protect the school and its premises.

Responding to the incident, the DEO VS Subbarao said that he will order an inquiry in the matter. After receiving the report on the extent of the school ground and its boundaries from the local tahsildar, he assured that a compound wall would be constructed to stop encroachers and miscreants from entering the school. He said that a police complaint will be given to bar entrance of others into the school ground.