A selfless guardian: Cop donates entire salary every month to school for Sabar children

Kolkata: Time and money may be vital things for everyone but things are different for a traffic constable of Kolkata Police. In a startling display of selflessness, Arup Mukherjee, traffic constable in the South Traffic Guard, has spent all his savings to set up a school for the children of the extremely backward 'Sabar' tribe in Purulia.

Mukherjee started his efforts towards setting up the school at Puncha village in Purulia in 2010. He even obtained loans from various organisations for the same. In 2011, the school started its journey on November 13.

According to Mukherjee, he had a hidden desire to do something for the Sabars since his childhood. "I used to hear that Sabars are antisocial elements. They had a criminal instinct within them. If any incident such as theft or snatching was committed, my grandfather used to say the Sabars were behind it."

Mukherjee informed that his grandfather had once told him that the Sabars were that way due to lack of proper education and sufficient income for a decent livelihood. Since then, Mukherjee was determined that he would build a school and educate the Sabar children to give them better life.

He joined Kolkata Police as a constable in 1999. Since then, he used to save money for his dream. In 2011, the school started with 20 Sabar children, which has increased to 112

students in 2018. At present, the school houses students up to Class IV with boarding facility.

"Till date we have not received any government help. The school is running with contributions from some people. I myself contribute my entire salary every month for the school," Mukherjee added.

When asked how his family makes ends meet, Mukherjee replied with a smile: "My father retired as a sub-inspector from West Bengal Police. He happily spends his pension for us." Mukherjee also informed that all of his family members feel proud of him despite all odds.

After running the school for a few years, help arrived at the doorstep. Some students of the 1985 batch of Ramkrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia, heard about the school. Later, they contacted Mukherjee and since the last two years, a team of approximately 45 members have been constantly helping him run the school.

Sanjay Tripathi, owner of a publication house in College Street, Kolkata, is one the members of the group. According to him, the school needs more help to survive in future.

"We got information approximately two years ago. Then some of us went there to see exactly what was going on. Later, we decided that we must help the school. If some government help is offered, it would be very easy to secure the future of the Sabar children," he said.

Another person who still remains behind the curtain is Khirod Sashi Mukherjee, a resident of Puncha. Hearing Mukherjee's desire, Khirod had donated approximately 12 cottahs of land to build the school and hostel.