MP students stop minister's convoy, demand road, power at school

A group of students in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district stopped the convoy of Minister of State for Forest and Environment Dilip Ahirwar and sought a paved road and electricity facilities at their school.

The incident took place in the Chandla assembly constituency on Friday, about 80 km from the district headquarters, when students of the government secondary school in Basrahi stopped the minister’s motorcade as it passed through the area.

The students told the minister that they had long faced problems due to the lack of a levelled road connecting the school. They also raised issues related to electricity supply and other basic facilities at the school.

A video of the students stopping the minister’s convoy has been widely shared on social media.

Ahirwar heard the students and assured them that the issue would be resolved soon.

The minister told the media on Saturday that the road project had remained pending because private land fell along the proposed route.

He said discussions had taken place with the landowner and directions had been issued to the chief executive officer of the Janpad Panchayat.

“Road construction will be started soon,” Ahirwar said.

The minister also clarified that the school already had a boundary wall and that the students’ main demand concerned construction of the approach road.

According to the students, the problem had persisted for a long time and they were forced to stop the minister’s entourage after their demands remained unresolved.

This episode comes amid reports of school students taking it upon themselves to highlight their problems in different parts of the country.