Chanda Kumari, 9, daughter of coal picker Ramesh Bhuian of Khilan Dhaur in Katras, used to pick coal with her father even in February. But now, the girl wears a uniform and a big grin as she sits in class with her new textbooks.
Chanda is not alone. 59 others of her locality have also started studying this month at a new free school, Pathshala, at Bhaga Basti, which opened on February 19.
The man behind this school is Dev Kumar Verma, 33, assistant manager (sales and marketing) in BCCL who got this school running with help from wife Priyanka, an assistant professor at BIT-Sindri, and school friends UP cadre IPS Kirti Mohan, Indian Railway Service official Avinash Kaur and Indian Foreign Service official Shruti Pandey.
