Uttarakhand school collects money from students, builds ‘ghost temple’

BAGESHWAR: A govt schoolhouse successful Kausani situated successful Uttarakhand's Kumaon hills has landed successful contention aft a tiny 'temple' was built wrong its field to "appease the tone of a man, believed to haunt the premises for the past 30 years".

The operation was funded done wealth collected from students, parents and teachers. Initially, a tiny ceramic operation was built arsenic a makeshift spot to "keep the tone away".But erstwhile respective girls began to autumn unconscious successful the schoolhouse owed to unexplained causes, this was attributed to "the tone of the man, a labourer from Nepal, who had died successful an accidental autumn adjacent the schoolhouse 3 decades ago." And a tiny 'temple' was erected.A teacher astatine the schoolhouse said they had besides tried counselling sessions of the girls who were fainting successful the premises, earlier they went up with the temple construction. "In the hills, content successful some gods and spirits is strong. The temple was seen arsenic a mode to curb fear," the teacher said, requesting anonymity.In Jan this year, the Parent Teacher Association of the schoolhouse initiated the temple's construction. Sources claimed that Rs 100 was collected from each of the 218 students enrolled successful Classes 6 to 12, raising Rs 21,800 portion the full outgo was estimated to beryllium astir Rs 25,000.

Even parents and teachers contributed. PTA president Chandan Singh Bhandari said they decided to spell up with the operation arsenic students were "frequently falling ill".Principal Tajbar Singh Negi said that the wealth was collected with parents' consent astatine a PTA meeting, and was intended for some cleaning and gathering the tiny temple. "The purpose was to make a peaceful situation for studies," Negi added.However, contention erupted erstwhile parents and students precocious raised questions astir the postulation and utilisation of funds. The substance thereafter came to the attraction of the acquisition section which ordered a probe connected Thursday.District's main acquisition serviceman Vinay Kumar said, "The substance volition beryllium investigated and strict enactment volition beryllium taken against those recovered responsible. The enquiry has been assigned to the artifact acquisition serviceman successful Garur."