Gumla: Manisha Kumari, Kuber Kumar and many other students from Simdega and hailing from a poor family background never thought that they would own Android phones for their online classes.
When the government started online classes after the pandemic, these students used to visit the houses of their well-off classmates to have access to their smartphones. But thanks to the initiative of the Jharkhand Police, they now have their own smart gadgets.
In late June, DGP Neeraj Sinha informally asked all police stations in the state to start smart gadget banks where police personnel and the public can donate their unused gadgets for distribution to the poor students who could not afford them for their online classes.
Manisha Kumar, a Class X student of SS Plus 2 Girls High School, who got a smartphone from the bank, said, “My parents are very poor and they couldn’t afford to buy me a smartphone for my online classes. I could not attend the classes, but now I have a smartphone. It helps me not only in my online classes but also in seeking answers to those questions which I couldn’t solve as I have learnt to operate Google.”
Kuber Kumar, another Class X student studying in Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Saldega, said, “My father is a farmer and couldn’t spare money for a high-end phone. After I learnt about the police initiative, I applied and got one phone. Now, I am regularly attending my online classes.”
So far, over 102 students hailing from 50 high schools and higher secondary schools in the district have received phones from the district police.
Notably, Simdega was the first among the 24 districts to set up the Upkaran Bank (Gadgets Bank).
Talking to TOI, SP Shams Tabrez said, “In the first lot, we gave phones to 36 meritorious but poor students of Class X and in the second lot, we distributed 76 handsets among 20 boys and 56 girl students. All police stations have awareness about this initiative which is helping the students.
He added, “We set up the bank as part of community policing on July 2. The district police will bear the cost of maintenance and network data for all distributed mobile sets.”
Many residents have donated their old phones while a few also donated new ones, said Dayanand Kumar, the officer-in-charge of Simdega sadar police station.
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