PITHORAGARH: A remote polling booth in Champawat , the government primary school of Khunadi village opened for polling on Tuesday. Booth level officer Babita Kharkwal opened the lock on the school gate around 6 am, an hour before people started lining up outside to vote for the Champawat bypolls. The school had shut down after the last student left in 2013 and now opens only for polls.
The Khunadi school is in good company though. Forty-three primary schools have been closed in the border district of Champawat since the formation of Uttarakhand in 2000, when student strength at these schools reduced to almost zero, according to district education officer (primary) Chandan Singh. "There are currently 473 primary schools in Champawat. Since 2013, the school in Khunadi has opened only on February 15, 2017, for the Uttarakhand assembly elections, on April 11, 2019 for Lok Sabha elections, on October 5 2019 for panchayat elections, on February 14 this year for assembly elections, and for the fifth time on Tuesday," said Singh.
