Kids miss classes as Bengaluru school becomes temporary shelter for demolition drive evictees
BENGALURU: Government Urdu Lower Primary School in Fakir Layout has been turned into a temporary shelter for the evictees after the GBAs demolition drive on Saturday. As the sun sets and cold creeps in on the third day without homes, people try to cover themselves with blankets, get back in a makeshift tent that has been put up right in front of the school building. One can see cots, cupboards, heaps of clothes, a broken washing machine, luggage bags and tarpaulin lying on the floor. Neha, a Class 5 student, said, I dont know if I will ever be able to return to school because our homes are destroyed and if my parents move from here in search of jobs and homes, then I need to go along with them. Salman (28), a fakir, seeks alms while singing on streets. He said, I have two daughters and a son. Two of them attend the Government Urdu School. My daughter is in Class 3, son is in LKG. Since Saturday, they have been missing classes, trying to help me and my wife gather our things that were lost. Zaitum Bi, now homeless, said, I have five grandchildren and three of them go to the Urdu school, two of them are attending Prema Kannada Higher Primary School. They are in distress and havent been able to attend classes for more than two days. Probably this entire week will be lost in searching for a proper place to stay, water to drink and place to cook our own food. Nandini, a volunteer with Dudiyo Karmikara Vedike, has been helping the fakir community in terms of finding employment, health and education. She said that due to poverty and lack of basic facilities, education is yet to become a priority among the family of fakirs and their kids. She said, There are at least 500 children. We run a programme, Post-School Learning, for two hours every day in the evening. Around 20 children from the Fakir Colony come here to play and learn. For now, the programme is on hold since Saturday as we have to focus on providing them with basic facilities like food and arranging a temporary shelter in this cold weather so that they can sleep safely.
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