Bantwal: Children Forced to Study Under Fearful Shadow of High Tension Tower

News and pics: Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network – Bantwal (SP)

Bantwal, Jan 9: Do the local bodies really have genuine concern for the safety and welfare of the small children of their respective villages? We already have before us, the standing example of the Gadiyara School and the Anganwadi centre within Kedila gram panchayat in the taluk, where huge high tension electric towers have come up adjacent to them. As if to show to the world that they are unfazed by the outcry of the public against such terrifying developments, Kadeshwallya gram panchayat has now started building an anganwadi centre right under an electric tower at Perlapu. This is one of the four anganwadi centres coming up within this panchayat, under the ‘Swarna Grama’ scheme of the zilla panchayat.

The construction of the centre is in progress, although several gram panchayat members are opposed to it, because of the danger the tower poses to the lives of the young children. This site, measuring five cents, had been chosen by the gram panchayat for the anganwadi centre, about a decade back. One of the panchayat members, Eshwar Poojary, has expressed his frustration over the fact that the department and the local MLA have not given heed to his repeated requests to choose an alternative site for the anganwadi because of the inherent danger posed by the tower to the children at the present location.

It is said that the party politics has come in the way of the gram panchayat members from unanimously opting to relocate the anganwadi. In several meetings, reservations had been expressed on the desirability of building the anganwadi at the site selected, but the panchayat administration is apprehensive that the grants sanctioned for the anganwadi will be withdrawn if there is delay in finding an alternative site for the anganwadi.

Panchayat president, Mohan, claims that the proposed building is coming up at a safe distance from the tower. He claims that initially there had been some opposition to the location, and that the concerned have since been convinced about the fact that the site is safe for the children. The zilla panchayat engineer, who has been supervising the building construction however, claims that he is not too much bothered about the desirability or otherwise of the location. He says, his duty is to build the centre at the spot earmarked by the local panchayat, and claims that there has been no dispute over the location of the four anganwadis coming up in the gram panchayat limits.

The petitions filed by some local people and also the gram panchayat member, Eshwar Poojary, against building of the angwadi at the the present site, did not result in anything other than passing them from table to table. The petition handed over to MLA, Ramanath Rai, was passed on by him to the taluk panchayat executive officer. He sent it to the child development department officer, seeking a report thereon. The officer then sent the same to the panchayat, pointing out that its choice of place has been objected to by some people. Because of the political one-upmanship in the panchayat, no one is mustering enough courage to openly challenge this location.

The locals feel that it would be better if the anganwadi centre comes up near the Perlapu School, where the anganwadi is already functioning, as they are fearful of sending the children to the new building because of the inherent risks. The attitude of the panchayat, which is already facing the wrath of the people for allowing a tower to come up by the side of the Gadiyara School and angnwadi, in going ahead with its decision to allow the anganwadi to be built under another tower, is quite surprising. It also speaks of the fact that political overtones, rather than the welfare of the local people, looms large in the minds of the rulers while taking decisions. The fact that the villagers, political parties, Stree Shakti and self help groups, MLA, local people’s representatives and officials have been preferring to keep their mouths shut on the issue, has given rise to doubts about the genuine concerns they have about the welfare of the children of the village.