Undistributed cycles catch rust

• Students devoid of facility | Delay in distribution after quality check

Sullia: The cycles from the government which were supposed to be distributed during the beginning of the school, still remain undistributed even after the passage of 6-7 months and thus have reached to a state where they are catching rust.

The 8^th std students having started asking questions on why the cycles have not yet been given to them. Heaps of cycles can be seen amassed on the school ground or at a corner in the school at many high schools Sullia taluk.

The government had implemented the cycle plan to attract the children towards government schools and also to provide a form of transportation in rural areas which lack transport facilities. Last year, the cycles were distributed to students during June and July itself. But the cycles that were supposed to be distributed this year lie heaped at the ground of the upgraded higher primary school at Sonangeri. The 882 cycles which have been brought to provided to the children at various government schools remain as orphans.

The government has provided the contract of fulfilling the cycle requirement to a private company. The cycles have been assembled at the school grounds of Sonangeri Higher Primary School and even after one-and-a-half month since the cycles were assembled, they were not distributed to the students. Since the cycles have not been used, they have started to catch rust.

Government asks for a report

In the backdrop of complaints coming to the concerned department regarding the low quality and problems found in the cycles which had been distributed at a few places in the state this year, the government passed an order to the Deputy Director of the district Education Department stating that the cycles be distributed only after they have been inspected for quality. Because of this, the distribution of the cycles in the taluk has been put on a hold. In accordance to the government order, a team from the department, had visited a few schools in the district, conduct inspection for cycle quality and also sent the report to the higher officials. As soon as the government’s order comes, the cycles will be distributed, inform the officials.

Children still dreaming for cycles

 It is good that the government decided to give the cycles to the children only after inspection, but taking months together to achieve this is the root cause of the issue. By immediately procuring the report and initiating action against the private company in case of low quality work, the government should have distributed the cycles to the children through some other company. Only because of the reason of quality, the children are unable to ride the cycles heaped right in front of their eyes. The dream of riding a cycle is not realizing. Immediate action needs to be taken in regard to this and the local MLA’s need to put pressure on the government.

Distribution immediately after receiving order

“All the work on the assembly of the cycles is finished. Since there are complaints regarding the quality, the cycles have not been distributed to the children in the district. Since the order is from the higher officials, the distribution has been kept on hold and as soon as the order comes, the cycles will be distributed amongst the children. Cycles have been distributed to the children in a few districts,” informed Lakshmisha Rai, MDakshina Kannada Monitor, Sullia

Article by Balakrishna Bhimaguli translated into English by Aaron Dmello