Give smartphones to school students, BJP tells CM

Leader of Opposition in the Chhattisgarh Assembly Dharamlal Kaushik on Monday urged Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to supply smartphones to school students, the absence of which he said was hampering their studies.

The BJP leader said since the lockdown due to Covid-19, the schools and colleges have remained closed. The online classes have commenced but due to lack of smart mobile phones, a large section of children can’t attend the classes due to lack of technology and resources.

There were also issues of network, mainly in rural and remote areas.

Kaushik pointed out that the BJP government led by Dr Raman Singh had envisaged a ‘Sanchar Kranti Scheme’ to distribute 50 lakh smart phones and establish 800 mobile towers in Bastar and Surguja regions.

Under the scheme, the then government had distributed around 30 lakh smart phones. The remaining 20 lakh phone distribution is pending.

Kaushik said these remaining smart phones should be distributed to the school going children. It would help them to participate in the online classes.