100-year-old Darbhanga school in a shambles

Darbhanga: The century-old Marwari High School in Darbhanga, around 130km from Patna, is in a shambles, its place in history forgotten.

The flagstone, paved on one of the school walls, says that the school was inaugurated by then district magistrate and collector J. Johnston Esor on April 15, 1918. But today, it is in dire need of attention and repair.

The school, in the 1985-86 academic session, was among five schools in Darbhanga to start Intermediate education. But all that the institution has done lies forgotten. Its roofs are decrepit as are the pillars and school walls.

Pawan Kumar Sureka, the president of the Darbhanga divisional chamber of commerce, who lives near the school, said: “It is a matter of great concern that nobody has taken the onus of reviving the institution’s infrastructure. The school authorities have been requested multiple times to attend to the situation but nothing has been done.”

A donor member of the school committee, Vijay Kumar Bairoliya, however, said some funds have been arranged for development of the school infrastructure. Soon the work will be initiated, he added.

“In the initial phase, the school’s ground floor would be refurbished,” he said. “Darbhanga MLA Sanjay Saraogi is concerned about the school’s facelift and regularly works to chip in funds for the school. Moreover, the school has no computer laboratory but in the second phase, endeavour will be made to redecorate the upper floors and arrange a well-equipped computer lab.”

Courtesy: The Telegraph