The basic education department on Saturday issued a stern warning to the Basic Shiksha Adhikaris (BSAs) of 11 districts where high-tension power lines continue to pass over more than 100 government schools, directing them to expedite their removal in coordination with the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL).
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The directions were issued during a review meeting held hours after Hindustan Times, in its Saturday edition, reported that nearly two lakh students studying in 3,890 government primary and upper primary schools across UP continue to face a potential safety risk due to 11,000-volt high-tension power lines passing over school buildings or premises despite a statewide exercise launched after a similar incident left 55 children injured in Balrampur in 2019.
Presiding over the meeting, director of basic education Anil Bhushan Chaturvedi instructed the BSAs to pursue the matter with UPPCL on priority. Prayagraj has the highest number of affected schools at 270, followed by Jaunpur (267) and Basti (227).
Other districts with a high number of schools over which HT wires pass are Azamgarh (172), Ghazipur (169), Sonbhadra (156), Siddharthnagar (136), Jhansi (119), Raebareli (116), Fatehpur (115) and Ballia (102).
The issue first came into focus after 55 students suffered burns on July 15, 2019, when a snapped high-tension wire fell on a government primary school in Utraula tehsil of Balrampur district. The incident prompted the state government to conduct a statewide survey to identify government schools over which high-tension power lines were passing.
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According to Chaturvedi, the number of such schools has come down from 9,009 at the start of the current financial year to 3,890 after the removal of lines from 5,119 schools.
“Due to high-tension power lines passing above primary and upper primary schools, there is a possibility of accidents,” an official said.
“Very soon no school will have this issue,” Chaturvedi said, adding that the department has been pursuing the matter with senior officials in the power department.
