Chandrapur/Amravati: Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder and ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign head Abhijit Dipke raised concerns over lack of basic facilities in tribal residential schools in Gadchiroli. During his visit to Amravati, Dipke said the MPSC aspirants across Maharashtra could exert considerable electoral pressure on political parties.After his visit to residential schools in Gadchiroli, Dipke said several institutions lacked basic facilities, including missing toilet doors. The rooms used by girl students for bathing lack roofs and doors, he claimed. Dipke said such deficiencies raise concerns over the dignity, privacy and safety of tribal students.Speaking in Chandrapur, Dipke said facilities at several residential schools he visited in Gadchiroli were unsatisfactory, except for the school associated with the projects of Baba Amte and Dr Prakash Amte at Bhamragad. He questioned how such deficiencies could persist despite substantial govt spending on tribal education and school infrastructure.Dipke said such conditions would have triggered a major public outcry if they existed in schools in metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru. “If washrooms and toilets without doors were found in schools in these metro cities, there would be an uproar. But in Gadchiroli’s residential schools, such basic deficiencies appear to have become normal,” he said.Dipke said volunteers associated with the CJP initiative had so far inspected 55 schools in Chandrapur district and claimed that several deficiencies were rectified following repeated representations to officials. He later visited Govt Engineering College, Chandrapur, and interacted with students, stressing the need for safe campuses and adequate educational facilities for rural and tribal youth.In Amravati, Dipke said that 15-20 lakh students across Maharashtra were preparing for competitive examinations. He demanded the resignation of MPSC chairperson over the alleged paper leak controversy and said competitive examination aspirants want transparent and accountable mechanisms.Dipke’s interaction in Gadge Nagar was marked by some disruption. He arrived at the venue an hour late, while aspirants sat amid overgrown grass. When media personnel reached the venue, some aspirants raised “Media Go Back” slogans. Police deployed at the spot intervened and escorted journalists away from the gathering.
