DEHRADUN: The Dehradun district administration has issued a notice to The Doon School, seeking an explanation for a structure on its campus that members of a right-wing group alleged to be a mazaar. The group had claimed they demolished the structure after scaling school’s wall Wednesday, raising security concerns at the elite boarding school.
Even as the school was preparing to respond formally to the administration’s query, a school spokesperson told TOI on Saturday that the structure in question was an “unauthorised construction” carried out by a PWD contractor.
According to the spokesperson, the dilapidated structure was located outside the school’s southern boundary wall. Since July, work had been going on to rebuild the school boundary wall. The contractor deployed by PWD had been clearing his temporary shed and wrapping up operations between Nov 9 and 12, the spokesperson said.
The notice issued to the school principal earlier this week said, “During the inspection, ongoing construction work of a mazaar was found, verified by a school employee, an assistant engineer from Smart City project implementation unit, and other labourers. Land records from Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority showed no approvals for the structure. …Why was the structure being built and why did the school not inform the authorities about the incident when it could have escalated into a major law and order issue or disturbed public order?”