City schools under illegal occupation

Out of the 295 government primary schools there are in the city, 54 have been lost to grabbers. Treating these as soft targets with little or no resistive power, government bodies, politically influential people and assorted vested interest groups have held them in partial or full possession for years, even decades.
The unchallenged sinners have set up anything ranging from Ansar-VDP camp, community centre, slums, WASA installed pumps to kitchen markets, garages, mosques and Eidgahs.
There is no question about the harm being done to primary schooling in the city both in terms of educational environment as well as loss to potential enrollment capacity.
It is neither a startling revelation nor any eye opener to banditry on state property. But the District Primary Education Office (DPEO) can only report from time to time about the incidents of encroachment, which is why we see reports galore but no action. Clearly, the DPEO is not capable of resisting encroachment. That is why it sought action from the district administration. The latter is reportedly of the view that it is the duty of the DPEO and the primary education directorate to resolve the issue; although this has been going on for long. The authorities did not 'monitor it properly. Drives to vacate the premises are thus hemmed in by litigation or court injunctions.
We believe the buck must stop somewhere, and the education ministry needs to take it up at the appropriate political level to free up the schools.