Peth village school wall in Chandrapur incomplete for four years, tiger fear grips pupils and parents

The boundary wall of the Zilla Parishad upper primary school at Ni. Peth village in Savli taluka of Chandrapur district has been incomplete for the past four years. This has made the safety of children a serious concern.

A forest adjoins the school, and the movement of tigers and other wild animals around it has increased. Pupils, teachers and parents are all afraid. A demand that the wall be completed as soon as possible, given the danger, is now growing louder.

Villagers in the Peth area are living in fear because of increased tiger movement. On September 16, 2026, a person was killed in a tiger attack a few metres from the school. On September 29, a tiger killed a pig right next to the school. Villagers also said that four to five bullocks and cows had been killed in tiger attacks in the area this year.

Small children play in the school compound. With no wall, the possibility that wild animals could walk straight into the school premises cannot be ruled out. Parents' concern for the children's safety has grown for this reason. The wall had been sanctioned under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), but the work has not been completed even after four years.

There is a demand that the administration explain exactly why the work has stalled and whether the funds needed for it are available. The school management committee has submitted a memorandum to the block development officer of the Panchayat Samiti at Savli. It demands that the pending work on the wall be completed urgently. The memorandum also says the officials concerned should inspect the school in person and prepare a report on why the work was delayed and whether funds are available.

The matter was raised in the Gram Sabha on the initiative of Sadanand Umaji Kinekar, president of the school management committee. The Gram Sabha passed a resolution on inspecting the school premises, stepping up Forest Department patrolling and completing the boundary wall quickly.

Villagers want the Forest Department to step up regular patrolling in the area until the wall is complete, install camera traps where needed and take temporary measures for the children's safety. Questions are being raised about the administration's functioning, as the wall has remained incomplete for four years even though the issue concerns children's safety. People expect that the agencies concerned will now take urgent notice, finish the wall and give the children a safe environment.