CM makes surprise visit to government home for Boys in Ranipet

He interacted with the students and enquired about their interests

Tamil schoolteacher L. Selvaraj, at the Government Middle School inside the Government Home for Boys in Ranipet, got an unexpected visitor on Thursday.

He was teaching students of Classes VI-VII when Chief Minister M.K. Stalin stepped in around 9.45 a.m. He was nervous and quiet before the Chief Minister, when the latter had asked him about the class strength. “I really did not know how to react when I saw him. However, he was very polite and enquired about the students in a caring way. It all happened in 5-10 minutes,” says Mr. Selvaraj.

The government home is maintained by the Department of Social Welfare and has 42 boys in the age group of 6-18. They reside in a common dormitory inside the campus, which also has a middle school. The armed reserve (AR) wing of the district police is also stationed inside the premises. The government home has been in existence since June 1924.

Accompanied by Minister for Public Works, Buildings, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu and Minister for Handlooms and Textiles R. Gandhi, Mr. Stalin was heading towards the new Collectorate building before he stopped at the home. When his convoy stopped at the Superintendent’s office in the home, the Superintendent G. Vijayakumar was not present. Headmistress Gomathi was also not present during the Chief Minister’s visit.

Officials said Mr. Vijayakumar was on his weekly off, leaving another staff in-charge for the day. Both the Officer In-charge and the headmistress were stuck in traffic at the time of the Chief Minister’s visit. “An explanation has been sought from the staff at the home, who were not present during the Chief Minister’s visit. Further action will be based on the explanation,” Ranipet Collector, D. Bhaskara Pandian told The Hindu.

Mr. Stalin asked the children their names, native, living conditions and interests before leaving.