After a year and a half, the lock on the classroom door of the newly constructed school building has finally been opened. The Pancheswar rural municipality, grappling with a shortage of classrooms that led to students falling ill while studying in the open, sought assistance from the police to unlock the facility.
Keshavsingh Ghatal, the chairman of the building committee, revealed that the four-room building at Gadadev Basic School in Ward No. 1 Sheri of the rural municipality, initially budgeted at 36 lakh rupees, eventually incurred expenses totaling 79 lakh rupees.
Village chairman Gorakhbahadur Chanda disclosed that the school's lock was removed on March 09, 2024, with police assistance. The decision was made to unlock the door, dissolve the school management committee, and seek an explanation from the principal.
Following the destruction of the old school building due to a landslide, an agreement was reached to construct the new building for 36 lakhs from the Presidential Educational Reform Program for the fiscal year 2078/79. Although there was a prior agreement with the school management committee for the construction, the responsibility was transferred to local youth Keshavsingh Ghatal.
Ghanshyam Mouni, the rural municipality engineer, noted that the cost of the four-room building, initially estimated at 36 lakh rupees, escalated due to the impact of the coronavirus. However, although 58 lakh rupees were paid, Ghatal, the construction committee chairman, did not settle the 79 lakh rupees.
Engineer Mouni explained, "While the building is of high quality, the question remains on how to pay 79 lakh rupees. From a technical perspective, a payment exceeding 58 lakh rupees cannot be justified."
