Chennai, Tamil Nadu :

Pallavaram Municipality to use defunct school building for it

The dilapidated building that once housed the Parali Su. Nellaiyappar Municipal Primary School in Chromepet will soon be developed as an integrated skill development centre for differently-abled and aged persons.

Pallavaram Municipality has allocated Rs. 1 crore from its education fund for the purpose. Announcing this at a recent meeting, municipal chairman, K.M.R. Nissar Ahmed said the centre would impart skills to differently-abled and senior citizens.

The land was donated by freedom fighter-writer-poet, Parali Su. Nellaiyapper, who lived in Chromepet from 1950s till his death in 1971. The philanthropist was awarded 3.16 acres of land by the State Government in 1954 from which he donated about 5000 square feet for starting a primary school in 1968.

After several years of its existence the school lost its sheen and was closed more than a decade ago.

“After several representations, the municipality felt the importance of such a donation and allocated Rs. 1 crore for the development of a training centre. The purpose of donation by the late poet should be preserved and if expedited it will be a boon to the downtrodden,” said PMK councillor J.M. Sekar.

Residents recalled that the school was functioning well, but patronage dwindled after the proliferation of private schools. The municipality decided to close down the school after enrolment dipped, they said. Some years ago when the civic body wanted to use the premises for performing birth control surgeries on community dogs, residents protested, stating that a building in the memory of a freedom fighter should be put to use for better purposes.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by T. Madhavan / Chennai – April 06th, 2015