A dispute between two private parties over about 12 grounds of land has put the future of nearly 500 students in the balance. On Tuesday, day two of the academic year, students of St.Joseph’s Matriculation in Villivakkam, saw their benches being thrown out and classrooms crumble.
This followed a Chennai Corporation directive to demolish the building (“an unauthorised superstructure”) on the basis of an order by a City Civil Court in April. While Corporation officials said the school management had been intimated in advance, school correspondent J.N.Kesari said he had no clue that the building was going to be demolished till Tuesday morning.
Parents who gathered on the premises too were not aware of the legal complications of the land dispute. “We paid the fees (about Rs.3,000) for this academic year only yesterday. Where will we put our children now,” wondered Selvam, whose son Prem Kumar was to attend Class VII this year.
“Why didn’t the Corporation do anything during the last two months when the school was closed for summer vacation,” asked Velu, another parent. Source: TheHindu
