80 girls from Rewari quit school, begin stir after being harassed
80 girl students of Gothera Tappa Dahena village in Rewari’s Khol block have stopped going to school and are on a hunger strike since Wednesday, demanding the upgrade of the village high school to senior secondary school.
The girls, all students of Class 11 and 12, say that they have to go to school in Kanwali, three kilometres from the village, and routinely face harassment from local boys on the way.
The girls said they complained to the sarpanch, who took the matter with authorities, but to no avail, so they have taken the matter in their own hands. On Friday, four girls’ health deteriorated and they had to be hospitalised. “They face problem related to conveyance and street harassment. They have to walk 3 km to go to school. Men wearing helmets on their bikes molest them regularly and get away as their identities remain concealed,” sarpanch Suresh Chauhan said.
District education officer (DEO) Dharamvir Balodia said the girls were being misled. “There are certain norms that need to be fulfilled before a school is upgraded. The high school in their village has around 150 students that is too less.”
SP Sangeeta Kalia said she personally asked girl students but no one had complained. “No complaint was ever made to us either. I have tried to talk to them and have assured their demands will be discussed ,” she said.
Last year in the same district, girl students of two villages had stopped going school after a girl was allegedly raped on way to school in another village.
Chhattisgarh police gunned down a feared Maoist, Vilash aka Kailash, in an encounter in Bastar region on Sunday. The state government had announced a reward of ₹16 lakh for Vilash’s capture.
Vilash, who hailed from Chhota Dongar in Narayanpur district, had been active in Barsoor area of Bastar for more than a decade and was booked in 18 cases, police said.
He had an AK-47 assault rifle, which was recovered near his body, police said.
Aarif H Sheikh, superintendent of police, Jagdalpur, said Maoists attacked a patrol party and this led to an exchange of fire in which Vilash was killed. He had played a key role in the Sukma ambush in which Maoists gunned down 25 CRPF troopers earlier this month, the police added.