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Ploy to occupy Sonaram HS school field comes to light

By Staff Reporter - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, March 1 � One of the oldest schools of Assam, might well end up losing a part of its estate, result of a plan being hatched by private parties. What is even more surprising, the School�s governing body has been kept in the dark, and the �convenor� is someone who has not been empowered by the school authority to take any initiative.

According to the plan being mooted, a sports complex will be established at a part of school campus, which is among the few open spaces left in the city.

Some members of the school governing body are surprised that recently an additional district magistrate, Kamrup Metropolitan District, has sent official letters to the school principal and president / secretary of the governing body of the school.

The letter sates that a meeting has been convened on March 2 at 4.30 pm to discuss matters relating to the �development of Sonaram HS School field and construction of Sports Complex thereon�.

The development has bewildered both governing body members and a number of past alumni of the school who are of the view that if there is an initiative to create sports infrastructure, it should be at the behest of the school authority and not from anyone else.

They are apprehensive that the proposed project could in reality be a money making operation at the cost of the school, which was established more than a century ago by a legacy of a well to do family. It is also believed that there are political forces who are interested to occupy parts of the school estate to further their own ambitions.

Here it may be mentioned that the estate of the school, which had public figures such as Tarun Ram Phookun and Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi as teachers, has seen very little changes since the time it was established. It was only during the widening of the AT Road that it lost some land on its southern boundary.

When contacted, Dhiren Baruah of Save Guwahati Build Guwahati (SGBG) said that he opposed building of large infrastructure on the riverbank. �It is a beautiful campus, and when it can be beautified there is no need for another building. Moreover, people do need open spaces,� he said.