After long years of pleading, the primitive Juang tribals of Uppar Panasanasa were pleased when the Education Department finally opened a primary school in their village only four years back.
Three teachers were also appointed to teach the students. A new school building with an estimated cost of Rs10 lakh was also sanctioned for the school. But although the entire fund was spent and the school building was completed on records, the innocent villagers are anxious to discover where the building is.
Two months back, the villagers had approached the district Collector to know why the headmaster and other teachers never visit the village for months. They also demanded an enquiry into the siphoning of funds allocated for the school building.
The Collector had assured the villagers that strict action would be taken in this regard only after a proper inquiry. But how long the inquiry is going to take is still quite unknown to the villagers.
In the meantime, sources inform that the concerned headmaster has been transferred elsewhere and no action has been initiated so far against the erring officials. A field visit to the village revealed that there is no school building existing. Only a plinth of two rooms was seen on the proposed school site.
A total of 76 enrolled Juang children from time to time gather at the village religious community room along with a local teacher and share midday meals. But none of the students are able to distinguish alphabets although the school is shown on official records to be functioning since four years.
Since Uppar Panasanasa is an inaccessible Juang village of Banspal block without any road communication, no officials are either interested to visit it or understand the miseries of the tribals. Hence, the villagers are left to their fate to live without basic amenities like drinking water, electricity, education, health and communication.