It seems that the Dehradun police are content with only lip service when it comes to security of the schools and children.
In the wake of the recent barbaric attack by the Taliban on the students of the Army Public School in Peshawar, an alert is sounded in India and security analysts are worrying about the safety and security scenario of schools across India. Dehradun being the educational hub requires special security arrangements in wake of the threat but nothing exceptional appears in the activities of the Police on ground.
The Dalanwala locality of the city houses many schools and a visit to this area is enough to expose the tall claims of the police as no noticeable increase in police patrol and preparedness is visible. The State Director General of Police, BS Sidhu, had convened a meeting of the schools authorities on Thursday and asked them to implement some basic security practices.
These guidelines include keeping registers for the visitors at school gates, building boundary walls, recruitment of security guards, installations of CCTVs and verification of all employees of the schools. During the DGP also claimed that police patrolling has been intensified in areas where schools are situated and police will be deputed during opening and closing hours outside the schools. The school authorities are taking the security threat and the advice given by the top Police official of the State.
The Principal of Welham Boys School Gunmeet Bindra told The Pioneer that the she had received a communication from of Board of Governors of the school for tightening the security of the campus. She said that the school normally practices most of the measures which were asked by the DGP but taking no chances the school is augmenting its security. Bindra said that she has written a letter to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in which a request to increase police patrol around school is made.
The Manager Administration of Welham Girls School, Group Captain S K Singh (rtd) informed The Pioneer that the school has put in place an elaborate security arrangement in the campus. He informed that metal detectors are placed at all entries and even the parents are being frisked. It is worth mentioning here that the school received a threatening letter on March 28 this year. The author of the letter claiming to be a member of terrorist organization Indian Mujahidin (IM) threatened to unleash unprecedented terror in the school campus in the first week of April.
The letter however proved to be a hoax but it resulted in the school adopting measures like increasing number of guards and raising the boundary walls. The Chairman of Doon International School D S Man informed that the school already has CCTVs in spots like gates, compound, office and passages and the school is doing everything it can to ensure safety of the students.
The administrator of Brightlands School Col B K Kapoor said that the school is trying to follow all the 25 security measures explained by the police chief. The Principal of KV ONGC D S Negi said that a meeting of KVS of the region would soon be convened to discuss the measures to be adopted for increasing the security. He said that the students should be made aware and should be taught to avoid touching suspicious objects and receiving anything from strangers.Many schools complained that they were not informed by the administration about the meeting of the DGP.
The Director of Pine Hall School said that the school has placed 42 CCTVs in its compound and the guards and other school staff is told to keep extra vigil and inform any suspicious activity. While the renowned and resourceful private school are adopting proper security measures the government school and smaller private school are not in a position to take these measures due to the financial constraints. The Principal of Rajiv Gandhi Navodaya Vidhyalaya R P Bamola said residential school needs budget to place CCTV on the entry points and he has apprised the education department officials for this.