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Future of 1.8K students at St Joseph School hang in balance as authorities asked to vacate ‘railway land’
The future of nearly 1,800 children studying at the Saint Joseph School and Church, Ghorpadi, now hangs in balance as the Pune railway administration has sent notice to the school-cum-church to vacate the premises within the next 15 days stating that the land belongs to the railways
The future of nearly 1,800 children studying at the Saint Joseph School and Church, Ghorpadi, now hangs in balance as the Pune railway administration has sent notice to the school-cum-church to vacate the premises within the next 15 days stating that the land belongs to the railways. The panicked school administration on Thursday held a meeting with the students’ parents wherein it was decided to fight the order as according to the school management, the 2 acre land upon which their school-cum-church stands, belongs to them since before the country’s independence. Whereas, the students and their parents are a worried lot as they don’t know where to go in the middle of the academic year.
Reverend father Rajesh Bansode, principal of the school, said, “We have land measuring around 2 acre and both our school and church are in the same campus. We have got notice from the Pune railway administration on November 3, 2022 telling us to vacate the entire property within the next 15 days after which time the railways will not be responsible for whatever action is taken against the school-cum-church. There are currently 1,778 students, both girls and boys, studying in the school while Classes 1 to 7 are aided by the state government. We are a Maharashtra state board school from kindergarten to Class 10.”
“So as principal of the school, it is necessary for us to inform all the parents about this issue. Hence, we held a meeting with the parents today and informed them about the notice sent by the railways to vacate the premises. We have all the documents related to the ownership of the land; the school was started in 1956 and the church is even older than that. It’s a matter of the future of thousands of students so we are now going to approach all the authorities, right from the Pune railway division senior officials, Pune district collector, and education department officials. They cannot stop the students’ education suddenly in the middle of the academic year. Where will the students go now,” he said.
Umesh Bhandari, a worried parent whose daughter studies in this school, said, “As we got to know about this issue of railway land and the school being told to vacate the premises, all of us parents are now worried. Who will give our children admission at this point of time when half the academic year is over and this school is really nice and convenient for most of us staying nearby. The Pune railway administration should find a solution to the problem instead of playing with the lives of thousands of students and their families.”
On his part, Manoj Jhawar, Pune railway division spokesperson, said, “Removing the encroachments and taking back the lands of the railways is a continuous process carried out by our estate department. In this particular case, the railway has sent notices to nine illegal religious structures in the Ghorpadi area, which are currently standing on railway land. And this is not the first time the notice has been sent as the railway track doubling and extension works need to be done and the railway is well within its rights in wanting back the encroached land.”
