This is an archive article published on December 29, 2021
Couple sends merchandise, sweaters for students of Chhota Udepur school
Bhallas, who run a charity organisation AWB Food Bank in New Delhi, contacted The Indian Express and reached out to the headmaster to offer sweaters, clothes, shoes, school bags, and books to the students.
Written by Aditi Raja
Vadodara | December 29, 2021 04:44 AM IST
3 min read
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A student receives school merchandise and sweaters on Tuesday. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)
Students of the Vaghalwada government primary school in Chhota Udepur, who were attending physical classes from the porch of a house after their school building collapsed, received school merchandise and sweaters on Tuesday from a New York-based Indian-American philanthropist couple Ratna and Varinder Bhalla.
The couple who reached out to the school’s headmaster Mitthal Rathva after reading a report published on December 17 in The Indian Express about the children attending physical classes from the porch of the house of a mid-day meal cook, without woolen wear in winters.
Bhallas, who run a charity organisation AWB Food Bank in New Delhi, contacted The Indian Express and reached out to the headmaster to offer sweaters, clothes, shoes, school bags, and books to the students. On Tuesday, 26 students studying in classes from one to five, received their set of merchandise in presence of their parents and Raman Rathva, the president of the government school teachers’ association of the district.
Mitthal Rathva, who coordinated the project along with AWB Food Bank said, “We are very happy that the children have received such beautiful gifts from benevolent people. They did not have sweaters and uniforms yet because the scholarship funds, under which the purchase is to be made, are yet to reach the parents… The children were delighted to receive their new clothes, shoes and sweaters. It was an extremely emotional moment watching them so happy…”
The Gujarat High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of The Indian Express report on December 17 and directed the state government to “immediately undertake the construction of a new school”.
The building of the Vagalwada government primary school in Chhota Udepur had collapsed on the night of September 21, 2020, due to its dilapidated condition. The students of various classes, who belong to the remote villages, were gathering at the home of the mid-day meal cook to attend classes.
Following the High Court directive, a team of officials of the district administration, including the sub-divisional magistrate visited the village. The district administration then shifted the children to a classroom in a nearby government school for offline classes and made transport arrangements for the students under the supervision of the headmaster and an assistant teacher.
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Varinder K Bhalla of AWB Food Bank said, “We were moved by the report in The Indian Express and immediately decided to reach out to the school to help them with the necessary items for the winter season. We are blessed to be able to end our year 2021 with the opportunity to serve the children.”
In 2014, the couple had also traveled to Sankheda taluka in Chhota Udepur to hand over an inflatable boat to students of Utavali government primary school in Narmada district, after reading a report in The Indian Express about the students swimming across the Hiran River to reach school, in absence of a bridge. The state government had, subsequently, completed the construction of the Hiran River bridge.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
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