PM’s visit to Ludhiana: Students inconvenienced

Visiting dignitaries are always a cause of inconvenience and impede the movement of a common man.

Visiting dignitaries are always a cause of inconvenience and impede the movement of a common man.

Parents were asked to drop wards outside the gate. (JS Grewal/HT Photo)

The students of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), were at the receiving end today in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the university.

Students faced a lot of inconvenience as parents were told by the cops deputed at gate number 4 to drop their wards at the gate which is at a distance of approximately 1.5km from school.

While a holiday has been declared on Tuesay in all the colleges of PAU on account of Modi’s visit, however, Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU remained open.

But out of a total strength of 2,500 students, only 1,600 students were present in the school while 900 chose to remain absent.

A parent, Raj Kumar said, “In the morning when I reached gate number 4 to drop my two kids, I was told by the police to leave them at the gate only. So my son who is 7-year-old and 9-year-old daughter had to walk all the way to school carrying heavy school bags. I feel the school should have declared holiday as walking the distance of 1.5km is difficult for students.”

When contacted, school principal, Sanjeev Thapar said, “Due to security reasons the police had not allowed the parents to enter the gate, but we had deputed teachers so that they may guide the students. If the students had to walk some distance, then it is not harmful for them.”