Construction of girls higher secondary school in Thirunallar delayed for over 13 years
Issues in payments to the contractor is said to have caused the delay; work on the new school was started in the year 2011 as the old premises had become insufficient
The construction of the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Thirunallar, near the Dharbaranyeswaraswamy Temple, situated on the Kumbakonam-Karaikal Main Road, has been going on for 13 years.
As the existing school, located on temple land, has insufficient space, the new school was sanctioned as part of Thirunallar town development. The construction project, estimated at ₹11.17 crore, began on April 21, 2011, with an expected completion date, as per the agreement, as July 20, 2014. However, the work remains unfinished.
Pon. Panneerselvam, general secretary of the Thirunallar Town Development Society, blamed it on the delay payment to the contractor by the Puducherry government.
“The current Girls Higher Secondary School is in a poor condition, with a severely weakened structure. A few days ago, education department officials inspected the school and recommended relocating children from Classes 1 to 8 to the Government Middle School in Thirunallar, near the main temple, and children from Classes 8 to 12 to P. Shanmugan Boys Higher Secondary School in Thenur village, 2 km away from here. Parents are hesitant to send their daughters to a boys’ school. The construction is nearing completion and with swift government action, the new school will be opened soon,” he said.
A haven for criminals
“The unfinished school building has become a hotspot for anti-social activities at night. The police should patrol the area, and the government must complete the project and take ownership of the premises. We have conducted several protests and submitted numerous petitions, but the government remains inactive. Many such Education Department projects remain unfinished due to the Puducherry government’s lack of focus on educational infrastructure in its annual budgets. Payment delays discourage contractors from continuing their work,” said A. Vincent, a member of the Parent-Teacher Welfare Association of Karaikal district.
P.R. Siva, Thirunallar MLA, told The Hindu that the school would open in August this year. “There are issues with pending contractor payments, but we are now working to resolve them. We are hopeful that the work will be completed soon. Once opened, the school can accommodate 2,000 children with advanced educational infrastructure,” he said.
Senior officials, who acknowledged that payment issues had caused the delay, said steps were being taken to resolve the matter.
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