Teacher gifts 50 saplings to students on retirement day
Times of India | 3 November 2024
Kolkata: An avid tree lover, Dilip Kumar Mitra (60), an assistant teacher at Telinipara Matribhawan Primary School in Bhadreswar, distributed 50 saplings among his students on the day he retired from his job on Wednesday after working for 24 years.
Titli Pramanik (10), a Class IV student, planted the gifted raktakanchan (Bauhinia Variegata) saplings in an open field near her slum. "It is like a Diwali gift. I named the sapling Dilip Sir," said Pramanik.
"These children are our future, and I always tried to connect them with nature and the environment from their childhood days. As my last act as a schoolteacher, I feel this was the best way bid farewell to them," said Mitra, whose passion for trees developed 30 years ago when he was not even a school teacher. Mitra joined the primary school in 2005, which caters mostly to slum children of Telinipara.
He grows these saplings at his own nursery, adjacent to his Bhadreshwar Mondal Bagan residence. He gave away more than 5,000 saplings among the locals in the last four years after he built up and produced saplings in his own nursery. "After Wednesday's retirement, I plan to spend the rest of my life for the green cause," added Mitra.
"My daughter didn't want to leave Dilip Sir on the farewell day, and she was weeping," said Mehaurnnessa, whose daughter Afshara Khatun (10) is a Class IV student. Afshara's father, Abid Hossuain, works at Telinipara jute mill.
"Here, 90% of the students from local slums mostly belong to the Muslim, Bihari, Telugu, and Madrashi communities, whose parents work in local jute mills, as vegetable vendors, or as rag-pickers," said Mukta Chatterjee, headmistress of the school, who thinks Mitra's retirement will have a deep impact on the children.
"Sir always encourages students to protect greenery in our slum's vicinity. My son will miss him a lot," said Samina Khatun, mother of Asif Ahmed, who is a Class II student.
With 59 students, the Bengali medium govt school now runs with just two teachers after Mitra's retirement. The school was established in 1926.