Campus Times | Lucknow 

Nearly a century after Mahatma Gandhi helped establish Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College in Lucknow as a symbol of women’s empowerment, the historic institution is facing closure after the Allahabad High Court declared its building structurally unsafe.

Court orders immediate closure

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has ordered the closure of all academic activities at the Hussainganj-based girls’ school within a week after an inspection found the 100-year-old structure unsafe for students and staff. The court directed the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS) to shift students to nearby suitable institutions and ensure adjustment of teaching and non-teaching staff without affecting their service benefits.

The order was passed by a bench of Justices Alok Mathur and Brij Raj Singh while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Vijay Kumar Pandey. The petition highlighted the deteriorating condition of the school building and warned of a possible collapse.

Inspection report flags structural failure

Following the court’s earlier directions, engineers from the Public Works Department inspected the premises and submitted a report stating that several walls had developed severe shear failure cracks and the reinforced brick concrete roof structure was beyond repair. The report concluded that the building was no longer safe for academic activities.

The court noted that some classrooms had already been shut by the school administration due to safety concerns. It subsequently ordered complete closure of the premises and asked authorities to assist students in securing admission to other schools if needed.

The bench also permitted the management committee to explore reconstruction of the school building and seek financial support from the state government under the Alankar Scheme. The matter will next be heard on July 16, when the court will review the compliance report.

A school born from Gandhi’s call

The history of Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College remains one of the most inspiring chapters of Lucknow’s freedom movement era. According to Gandhian writer Ramnath Suman’s 1969 book “Uttar Pradesh Mein Gandhi”, the institution was founded in 1921 following Mahatma Gandhi’s appeal to local women during his visit to Lucknow in October 1920.

Gandhi had urged women to set aside a small handful of flour before cooking meals for their families to support freedom fighters and revolutionaries who often went hungry during the independence movement. Volunteers collected the flour from households and stored it under what came to be known as the Tilak-Swaraj Fund.

Flour donations turned into a girls’ school

Within months, the collected flour exceeded immediate requirements and volunteers sold the surplus, raising Rs 64.25 — considered a significant amount at the time. When asked how the money should be utilised, Gandhi reportedly said that since the contribution had come from women, it should be used for women’s welfare and education.

Acting on his advice, volunteers established a girls’ school on the occasion of Nag Panchami in 1921. The institution later became known as Chutki Bhandar Girls Inter College — a lasting tribute to women’s participation in India’s freedom struggle and Gandhi’s vision for female education.