Bicycles for girls unused for a decade

TNN / Aug 2, 2024, 05:13 IST

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Vadodara: Bicycles procured by the state govt to give to girl students of govt schools in the district have gone undistributed for a decade. The administration now wants to sell these as scrap but is unable to find buyers at the reserve price of Rs 900 apiece.
The bicycles were procured by the state govt in the 2014-15 academic year under the Saraswati Vandana scheme.Some 995 bicycles were undistributed and lay at various schools in Vadodara district.
District primary education officer Mukesh Pandey said it was decided to auction off these bicycles with a reserve price of Rs 900. “They are not fit for use and we had to take this decision,” he said. The Congress, which is in opposition in the Vadodara district panchayat, had demanded that the bicycles be refurbished and distributed to students who need them.
The auction was to take place on Wednesday and scrap dealers did turn up,but were unwilling to pay Rs 900 per bicycle. They said that they could afford to buy only at a rate of about Rs 400, as similar bicycles had been auctioned off in Chhota Udepur for Rs 400 apiece. Five scrap traders attended the auction but only demanded that a lower reserve price be set.
Pandey said that the Saraswati Vandana scheme had been applicable for only one year and was then discontinued.
He added that a fresh auction will now be held.

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