The Hindu : Karnataka News : Children who lost books in floods to get new ones

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Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Children who lost books in floods to get new ones

Shankar Bennur

— Photo: D. Sreenivasulu

Tough task ahead: Many children are disappointed at the loss of books half way through the academic year.

MYSORE: Schoolchildren in the floods-affected districts of north Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka, who lost their textbooks after their houses were flooded in the recent deluge, can happily attend their classes without worry as the Karnataka Text Book Society has taken steps to distribute textbooks free to children studying in government schools in those districts.

The floods not only claimed hundreds of life, but also threatened the future of the children due to damage to school buildings and loss of books. Thousands of school-going children in Bagalkot, Raichur, Bijapur, Koppal, Gulbarga and Gadag districts had become distraught since their textbooks and notebooks had been washed away in the floods. If their parents are worried about rebuilding their damaged houses, the children were disappointed over losing their books, with half the academic year over.

Responding swiftly to the plight of schoolchildren, the textbook society, which was established by the State Government to ensure smooth distribution of free textbooks in government schools, had issued circulars to the Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs) in the flood-hit districts to distribute textbooks stored in the block-level textbook godowns (in each taluk) for sale, free.

Society Managing Director N.H. Satyamurthy told The Hindu that the circulars had been sent to the DDPIs on Monday, directing them to distribute the books meant for sale free to the needy children.

“The textbooks available for sale in the godowns will be distributed free among the schoolchildren. If there is a shortfall, we shall make immediate arrangements for the books so that the children get new books,” he said.

The distribution of textbooks in the flood-affected districts will be done in three phases. In the first phase, the available books in the block-level godowns in the flood-hit districts will be distributed on priority. In the second phase, the surplus books or the books kept for sale in the godowns of other districts (not affected by floods) will be diverted to the flood-affected districts. “If more textbooks are required, we shall reprint them as per the need in the third phase,” Mr. Satyamurthy said.

He said the DDPIs of the flood-affected districts had been asked to send details on the requirement of textbooks in spite of distribution from the available stocks.

With the reopening of schools in the districts after the Dasara vacation, the distribution of textbooks is likely to take place from Tuesday. While the books are printed by the Government Press in Bangalore and Mysore, the society monitors the distribution round the year.

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