The sparkle returned to the eyes of the children of Irkbhatti, the A, B, C echoed again in the closed school.
Niyyad Nella Nar and rationalization brought back the light of education in the Maoist-affected village
Raipur, 04 July 2025: This school was once deserted… the doors were locked, the rooms were filled with dust and silence. But today the same Irkbhatti Prathmik Shala has come alive again with the chirping of children and the echo of lessons. The flame of education has been lit up again in this remote village of Abujhmar, the credit for which goes to the ‘Niyad Nella Nar’ scheme and rationalization initiative run by the government of Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai. In the last few years, the color of the villages had faded due to Maoist activities. Children had dropped books from their hands, the courtyards of the schools had become deserted and the beats of the Mandar had also become silent. Irkbhatti of Narayanpur district was also one such village, where people tried to improve their lives in every situation, but were deprived of even basic needs like education. Ramsai Kakadam, a resident here, says that earlier it seemed that our children would probably never know the name of the school, but now that teachers have been appointed and the school has reopened, it feels as if the village has come alive again.
The ‘Niyad Nella Naar’ or ‘Your Good Village’ scheme has raised a new hope in remote and struggling villages like Irkbhatti. The schemes are being effectively delivered to the villages within five kilometers of the security camps. In this sequence, a road was built in Irkbhatti, electricity was provided and the primary school which was closed for years reopened. Due to the rationalization efforts of the government, two teachers are now regularly posted in the primary school Irkbhatti. Teachers named Ashok Bhagat and Leela Netam are teaching the children here. They are not only doing the work of teaching, but are also motivating the parents to send their children to school regularly.
Teacher Leela Netam says that earlier she was scared here, but the smile of the children makes one forget all fears. These children are very intelligent, they just needed an opportunity. Now we try to teach them something new every day. Now more than a dozen children are studying in the school. There are books in their little hands, and dreams of the future in their eyes. Earlier, the villages which were scared of going to school, now people come there carrying their children on their shoulders to drop them to school. There are tears in the eyes of the village elder Mangtu Bai, but of happiness. She says that now our granddaughter can also become an officer after studying. We had never thought that we would see this day. The story of Irkbhatti is not just of one village, but of thousands of villages, which were once immersed in the darkness of neglect and insecurity. But now schemes like ‘Niyad Nella Naar’ and rationalization have brought a ray of light in their lives. The flame of education has been lit again and this flame is not going to be extinguished now.
