Thane civic school loses playground; parents begins relay protest
Thane Parents of students from Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) school number 126 and 32 at Hajuri are on a hunger strike against the civic body for using the land beside the school to set up command and control room. The land was the students’ playground for almost 20 years. As the plot belongs to TMC, it will be used to set up a control room for CCTV cameras across the city.
“The plot is owned by TMC. It is not a designated playground. As it was empty, civic schoolchildren would use it to play. We have an approval to set up a command and control room,” said Manish Joshi, assistant municipal commissioner, TMC.
Five parents take turns to protest outside the TMC office at Panchpakhadi. The protest started on December 23 and will go on till TMC responds.
“We used to use the ground for all important events of the school. It is important to have a playground for students’ mental and physical growth. Hence, we are fighting for it,” said Firoz Pathan, parent of a 10-year-old boy studying in the Hajuri civic school.
The school premises at Hajuri has Urdu and Marathi medium schools. “With the declining number of Marathi-medium schools, the civic body should focus on providing facilities so that students are encouraged. Taking hasty decisions may reduce student count,” said Sana Sheikh, teacher at TMC Urdu school.
Earlier this month, students had staged a protest march in which around 80 students protested for losing the playground.