Akola, Eastern Maharashtra

The sun was setting on another hot and dry day in Akola. It had been one of the hottest
summers in recent years and the local residents were spending most of their time indoors.
The local news channel had advised laborer’s, salesmen and rickshaw and bus drivers to
seek shelter as often as possible and carry water bottles to prevent dehydration. Parents
were warned not to send their kids out to play. This however was a cause for concern as the
summer vacations had recently started and the kids wanted to play outdoors. One school in
the district had set up indoor sports and arts activities for kids. The school was providing free
swimming and karate lessons to kids from lower income households. This was an initiative
taken by the founder of the school, Rajesh Barve.

The Barve school for underprivileged kids was in its 10​th​ year and would finally see its first
students finish their 10​th​ std boards exams the coming school year starting in July. The
school provided free education to students whose parents earned less than a $ a day. It was
also open to other members of the social strata at a local municipal school fee. The school
was Marathi medium up to 5​th​ std and then English-Marathi medium till 10​th​ std. The school
provided free lunches and other after school activities. The expenses of the school were
significantly higher than other schools in the city due to its popularity amongst the lower
class of society. However, the expenses were paid for by the Barve Foundation. This
foundation was run by Rishikesh Barve, son of Rajesh Barve. The school had been a major
success and many companies in other parts of Maharashtra were adopting its model.
The Barve Construction Company founded in 1975 by Rajesh Barve by mortgaging his
wife’s jewelry, was one of the largest companies by revenue in Maharashtra and had
successfully negotiated with the Vidarbha government to give them the contract to construct
a dam on the Morna River. The Morna Dam Project was planned to provide irrigation water
to farmlands of the area and to provide supplementary electricity to the region. The plan was
to provide 24 hours electricity to half a million people by the end of 2025. As a part of the
Morna Dam agreement, The Barve company agreed to build the school and nearby staff
housing complex. It was a part of the education improvement initiative undertaken by the
Vidarbha education board. The teachers at the school were often employees of the Barve
foundation or retirees who had worked at Barve’s for years.

One of the employees who taught Social Studies (history and geography) was Parag Chitnis.
He was a former Mechanical engineer working for the construction company and had given
up his manager position to become a full time teacher and lived at the housing complex with
his wife, Meghna He had been working at the school for 2 years and the upcoming year
would be the first time he would be teaching the 10​th​ std syllabus. During the school
holidays, He worked as an advisor and technical support staff at the dam construction site.
He had been coerced by Rishikesh Barve to go and help the company during the vacation.
He enjoyed the change of setting from a class room to a construction site but disliked the
attitude and work ethic of most of his colleagues at the site. Due to local protests from
manipulated villagers and village leaders, the project progress had slowed down to a snail’s
pace and most permanent site employees had spent half a decade lounging around and
playing cards.
This story is about Parag Chitnis’ death and the aftermath of what followed that would
change the lives of many people involved with Barve Construction Company.