School building demolished under police protection

Clash between school, corporation over accommodating anganwadi

Kozhikode

The demolition of the old building of the Government LP School at Vellayil, has become a major setback to the Kozhikode Corporation, which had given clear-cut instructions to the school authorities not to do so. The century-old building of the school that housed the Malaarvadi anganwadi was demolished on Thursday and Friday following an order of the Director of Public Instruction based on an unfit certificate issued by the corporation. The school had also obtained police protection based on a High Court order, in the backdrop of the resistance against the demolition from the corporation, councillors and a few local people.

The Malarvadi anganwadi started functioning at the school in 2018 based on a government order that anganwadis could be accommodated in schools if the schools had enough space to accommodate it. "The corporation had established the anganwadi in the school without permission from the school PTA or the Deputy Director of Education. Also, the government order states that schools located in more than 1 acre of land could only be considered for anganwadis. We do not have that kind of land or infrastructure here", said Lalitha M.K., headmistress of the school. She said that a new building of the school was nearing completion and there was a need to make more space for other infrastructural development.

On the other hand, the corporation saw it as a challenge to its authority over the school under the Kerala Municipal Act as well as a move to de-house the anganwadi. The corporation had issued several notices to the school authorities and the DDE that the building could not be demolished without the consent of the corporation as well as the Indian Railways, as it is located within 30 metres from the rail track.

The corporation's demand is that the school should accommodate the anganwadi in its new building, while the school authorities maintain that it was the duty of the corporation to find appropriate premises for the anganwadi. As the local people allege lack of humanitarian concern by the school authorities in demolishing the building, the school authorities claim that the anganwadi was served several notices to evacuate the premises more than a year ago.