BANDIPORA : The alleged lack of coordination between social welfare department and education department has snatched orphans, poor students the annual meager government support of rupees 700-1000 in Bandipora district of north Kashmir.
Instead of asking government to increase the amount for the welfare of these needy, the department fails to disburse it since years. These poor students said that the social welfare department in Bandipora is not granting any financial assistance to them from last many years doubts embezzlement in funds.
They said that the department has forced them to face the brunt adding that they are unable to study. “We manage to buy books by our own”, they said.
“Government used to give 700-1000 rupees to each student yearly belongs to Below Poverty Line (BPL) family and to orphans. Even this amount was a joke as it hardly was fulfilling a need”, they said.
These beneficiaries are allegedly forced to leave the studies as the government support is unworthy. “Whatever the small financial assistance we were getting for the studies annually, the department has stopped that too. How come we can get a better education on an annual support of rupees 700 or 1000 rupees?” a beneficiary said on condition of anonymity.
The parents of poor students while talking to PTK alleged that the department is looting money meant for their wards.
They said they have not received a single penny since adding that they wonder if funds are being granted for these beneficiaries by the government, where it goes.
Sources in Social Welfare Department said, “The schools in Bandipora were given crores for the welfare of students last year in March by the government as a ‘poor fund’ but the money was deliberately stopped for unknown reasons by the respective school clerks to deliver directly in the account numbers of students or to handover checks”.
Sources in school department told PTK, said that the school authorities use this poor fund for different kinds of school needs. Sources said that there is huge embezzlement of these funds.
This correspondent met an orphan student in Sumbal zone who is studying at Government High School Sumbal. The uniform of the poor student was torn. He said he is unable to buy new one. He had told that he can’t study if not any monitory help from government.
When contacted an official at Deputy Commissioner’s Office in Bandipora said that the funds may be stuck due to the Adhaar Enrollments.
