Cold wave: Patna DM seeks chief secy's intervention in face-off with Edu Dept over closing schools

Patna/ Muzaffarpur: Patna DM Chandrashekhar Singh on Wednesday complained to Chief Secretary Amir Subhani about "endless correspondence" from the Education Department, which objected to the closure of schools in the district in view of the intense cold wave.

The incident happened on a day on which a 10-year-old boy died in Muzaffarpur district after returning from school, apparently because of cold, his family alleged. However, the local administration said it does not have any information about it.

Singh had on Tuesday ordered that all schools till class 8, anganwadi centres and coaching centres in state capital Patna should be shut till Thursday due to the cold wave conditions.

Director of Secondary Education Kanhaiya Prasad Shrivastav wrote to Singh, saying the circumstances under which the order for closure of schools was issued must be explained.

"The DM did not take permission from the state education department before ordering suspension of classes up to 8," he said, adding that the department will take legal opinion after receiving a reply from Singh.

Following the letter from the Education Department, Singh sought the intervention of the chief secretary.

"The continuous exchange of letters between two wings of the government must be stopped for better administrative functioning. Role and functionality of each wing of the administration have been clearly defined... and it must be honoured. The chief secretary should intervene into the matter and find out an appropriate solution," he wrote to Subhani.

Patna shivered at a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and recorded a maximum temperature of 13.9 degrees Celsius.

When the war of words was unfolding in the state capital, barely 70 km away in Muzaffarpur district, a class six boy died, his family said.

Villagers claimed that the boy was shivering due to cold when he went to school.

"He was immediately sent home from school. On reaching home he died," a family member said.

Muzaffarpur DM Pranav Kumar said he does not have any information about the incident.

He, however, told reporters that due to the cold wave conditions, people have been advised to stay home and take precautions.