Golibar girl scores 93% in SSC exams

After studying in a half-demolished chawl surrounded by debris and discord, Tejashree Mestry had reason to celebrate on Friday.

After studying in a half-demolished chawl surrounded by debris and discord, Tejashree Mestry had reason to celebrate on Friday.

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The Golibar resident, whose home in Ganesh Krupa Society was demolished in January amid widespread protests, scored 93.64% in her Secondary School Certificate (SSC) exam on Friday.

Managing to salvage only her books, the 16-year-old kept up her schoolwork in makeshift rooms and tuition classes. “I knew that I had studied hard and expected to score over 80%, but my marks amazed me and moved my mother to tears,” said the student of Anuyog Vidyalaya, Khar. “My teachers supported me a lot and even suggested that I stay with them during the exams since my house had been broken down. I chose to remain at home and help my parents, but studied hard at the same time,” she said on Saturday.

The demolitions in the area led to widespread protests from residents and social activists including Medha Patkar, who went on a hunger strike to get the residents’ demands heard.

Mestry claimed that ten students from the locality took the SSC this year and nine of them cleared the exam. Her neighbour, Mayur Mangesh Dalvi, was also celebrating passing the exam with 82%. While Dalvi’s house escaped demolition, he too was caught in the middle of the chaos while every house around his was razed to the ground. “It was a very disturbing time. I could not even go to my tuitions, and was unable to concentrate,” he said.

“I am particularly interested in science and would like to get into a good engineering college,” said the 15-year-old.