Jamshedpur police come up with ‘mobile bank’ for needy kids

Jamshedpur, July 13: In order to bridge the digital divide among school children, the State police have come up with a Mobile Bank. As per the plans, those having extra smartphones or laptops and are not using them can donate the sets at their local police stations or at Composite Control Room. The moment a person submits his or her device to the police, an entry will be made in the station diary about the owner of the device.

“We assure the donor that the moment he or she submits the device to the police station, he will be freed from all responsibilities related to that particular device. A copy of the station diary, having all details about the device, will also be provided to that person as proof that he has submitted his mobile phone or laptop to the police,” said a police official.

He further said that any mobile phone, laptop, or tab coming to the police station will be sent to the district headquarters and the SPs concerned will hand over the device to a needy student on the recommendation of the principal of his/her school. An undertaking will be taken from the students and their parents to use the device only for online classes.

The coronavirus pandemic has shut down schools and while most of the schools have resorted to online classes to finish the academic year, not everyone has been lucky to make use of it. For many students from underprivileged backgrounds, a mobile phone or other devices to attend classes is a luxury they can’t afford. Keeping in mind their needs, Jharkhand has gone ahead and will soon be rolling out an electronic gadget bank that will repair used or discarded laptops, smartphones, and tabs and distribute them to these children so that they can also partake in online classes.

A copy of the submission will also be given to those who give away their phones and tabs for future references. The devices will be then systematically handed over to a needy student under the directions of their school authorities and a written assurance will be taken from them to use the device for educational purposes only.

Recently 12-year old Tulsi Kumari whose fight reaped fruits after Valuable Edutainment Pvt Ltd bought a dozen of her mangoes for Rs 1, 20,000 and fulfilled her dream of buying an android phone to resume her online classes. Twelve-year old Tulsi, a class 5 student from bagunhatu govt school in Jamshedpur, was selling mangoes on a Sunday during lockdown near Kinnan Stadium. When a reporter enquired about her vending Mangoes on deserted roads during the lockdown, Tulsi narrated her story. She said that she wanted to earn Rs 5000 so that she could buy a phone and resume her online studies halted for the want of an android gadget. The story went viral with a lot of people expressing sympathy for her.