AURANGABAD: Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited staff recently came together, donating a day of their salary to light up 35 model schools in Aurangabad district which were struggling without electricity.The ISO-certified schools across the district had been without electricity from six months to two years due to non-payment of dues to the MSEDCL."Our staffers had recently donated a day's salary each for a social cause. A decision was made to clear the power dues of the schools from the collected amount. These are digital schools and electricity is necessary," Omprakash Bakoria, joint managing director of the Aurangabad MSEDCL zone, told TOI on Monday.An MSEDCL official said electricity dues to the tune of Rs 3.22 lakh were paid on Monday and the process of resuming power supply started immediately. Out of the 2,000-odd schools run by the zilla parishad in the district, 150 are model schools.Aurangabad ZP CEO Pavneet Kaur said, "It was a very kind gesture by the MSEDCL staff to contribute for the outstanding electricity bills and ensuring that the power supply is resumed at these 35 model schools."The young IAS officer said she has been working to tackle the issue of power bills and was optimistic about resolving the issue at the earliest. "In the past couple of years, none of the people's representatives have come forward to help restore the power supply to these model schools," said an education official."Payment of bills has always been a major problem for the ZP schools. However, as rural areas are found to be used to load-shedding, reports of schools going without electricity do not make any news," said the official.Citing the example of a ZP school at Pisadevi, the official said even schools situated on the outskirts of Aurangabad city have been facing similar problems.

Stay updated with all the Latest Aurangabad headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.