ITDA negligence deprives students of cosmetic products

Mancherial: Owing to inordinate delay of four months caused by the ITDA officials to call for tenders (which should have been done in September) for the supply of cosmetic products to 38,000 students of 125 satellite schools located in Adilabad, Komaram Bheem, Mancherial and Nirmal districts, the students have been denied the products.

As the tenders were called on December 3, the students were forced either to take loans to buy products like soaps, oils, toothpastes, bindis and ribbons (for girls) or compelled to take money from their parents for the purpose.Students Sriram and Bheem Rao and Girijan Sangham leader Jaivanth Rao while speaking to The Hans India expressed anguish over the happenings in the schools, as the tenders for the supply of essential commodities have been called very late.

They pointed out that normally these tenders should be called once in three months. But the ITDA officials are apparently not following this rule. The cosmetic products cost the department Rs 1.2 crore per year, at the rate of Rs 30 lakh for three months. The students lamented that they will not have any monety to purchase cosmetics since they come from poor background and their parents are mostly daily labourers. Hence, they are forced to do without them. Students said that they are forced to take bath without soaps. This, a student claimed, was resulting in skin diseases. They lamented that they were also forced to brush their teeth without toothpaste. In view of the hardships faced by them, both the students and the Girijan Sangham leaders have demanded the ITDA officials for supply of cosmetic products on time and mitigate their sufferings.