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

BAGESHWAR: A govt school in Kausani situated in Uttarakhand's Kumaon hills has landed in controversy after a small 'temple' was built inside its campus to "appease the spirit of a man, believed to haunt the premises for the past 30 years". The construction was funded through money collected from students, parents and teachers. Initially, a small brick structure was built as a makeshift place to "keep the spirit away".

But when several girls began to fall unconscious in the school due to unexplained causes, this was attributed to "the spirit of the man, a labourer from Nepal, who had died in an accidental fall near the school three decades ago." And a small 'temple' was erected.

A teacher at the school said they had also tried counselling sessions of the girls who were fainting in the premises, before they went ahead with the temple construction. "In the hills, belief in both gods and spirits is strong. The temple was seen as a way to curb fear," the teacher said, requesting anonymity.

In Jan this year, the Parent Teacher Association of the school initiated the temple's construction. Sources claimed that Rs 100 was collected from each of the 218 students enrolled in Classes 6 to 12, raising Rs 21,800 while the total cost was estimated to be around Rs 25,000. Even parents and teachers contributed. PTA president Chandan Singh Bhandari said they decided to go ahead with the structure as students were "frequently falling ill".

Principal Tajbar Singh Negi said that the money was collected with parents' consent at a PTA meeting, and was intended for both cleaning and building the small temple. "The aim was to create a peaceful environment for studies," Negi added.

However, controversy erupted when parents and students recently raised questions about the collection and utilisation of funds. The matter thereafter came to the attention of the education department which ordered a probe on Thursday.

District's chief education officer Vinay Kumar said, "The matter will be investigated and strict action will be taken against those found responsible. The inquiry has been assigned to the block education officer in Garur."