Hyderabad: A building contractor in Warangal on Friday locked classrooms of a government primary school over the non-payment of contracting bills, forcing students to sit in the open and attend classes.
The contractor Sambbiah undertook the construction of two classrooms, a toilet and a ramp at Nikonda Mandal Government Primary School in Warangal in the year 2017-18 at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.
There are only 4 classrooms in the school 2 in operational condition while the two others remain in dilapidated conditions. As the contractor locked the rooms the students have been forced to sit on the ground in the open.
The contractor had reportedly paid several visits to the officials demanding for his dues to be cleared. After continual visits, only Rs 10 lakhs were released last year and the remaining amount remained unpaid.
The contractor locked the school toilet six months ago but was forced to reopen them when the education department officials assured him of releasing his bills. In spite of the assurance, the pending amount was not released following which the contractor resorted to locking the toilet.
The contractor claimed that he had taken a loan for the construction and the interest on the amount has been adding to his troubles which forced him to take drastic action.
The Mandal education officer Ratnamala and headmaster of the school John have informed DEO officials about the issue.
The parents of the students have expressed their displeasure and demanded an immediate resolution of this issue.
| 
