Police vacate playground of British-era school in UP's Bareilly

MEERUT: The playground of Nai Kotwali Primary School, a British-era institution established in 1927 in Bareilly, was finally cleared after years of alleged encroachment by Kotwali police to dump unclaimed vehicles. The school was built for the children of cops and the surrounding community.

A few days ago, TOI reported that the police were using the school ground to dump unclaimed custodial vehicles, depriving students-mostly from underprivileged backgrounds-of space for physical activities and endangering their safety. After the story was published, Bareilly Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Sanjay Singh said that they took cognisance of the issue.

In his letter to the principal, Singh said, "We took cognisance of the matter that the unclaimed vehicles were abandoned in the school ground, following which the students were deprived of the playground. I instruct you to speak to the SHO and resolve the matter." Following this, the school playground was cleared on Thursday.

Kalpana Verma, an assistant teacher in the Primary School said, "We raised concerns about student safety and repeatedly requested Kotwali police to remove the abandoned vehicles. Despite assurances, nothing changed. Now, I thank TOI for helping us remove the vehicles; now our students have a ground to play."

A student said, "We encountered snakes several times . Our teachers ran from pillar to post to get the encroachments removed, but nothing happened. Then, a story was filed by TOI, and police swung into action; now I want to become a journalist in future."
(With inputs from Asif Ansari)