Students at risk due to leaking drainage

Children studying at the government school in Safarinagar, Kothaguda, have to wade through drainage water as multiple manholes have begun overflowing after the onset of monsoon.

The roads around the Primary and Secondary Zilla Parishad Government Schools have been inundated with drain and sewerage water, affecting over 1,500 students.

“Sewage overflows after heavy rains. The water stagnates, giving off a foul smell and it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies,” said Mr Abdul Raheem, assistant of the Senior Secondary School.

Officials said the school had undergone multiple renovations to keep the drain water from entering, but all it takes is a heavy rain to inundate the entrance. “We shift our students to different classrooms when the water stagnates in front,” said Mr Raheem.

Safarinagar Resident Welfare Association secretary Pradeep Gadicherla the municipality had been informed multiple times. “The stormwater drains are very narrow. Every time it rains heavily the drain can’t handle the pressure and a three-foot puddle cuts off the colony and school. It’s an intermittent problem to which the municipality only has short-term solutions.”

He said that whenever any drain is clogged, the water overflows in front of the school.

The staff at the school says that though the municipality is prompt in pumping out water, they haven’t worked out a permanent solution. “Children of economically weaker sections, migrant groups come here, so their health is compromised” said a staff member.

There is another problem that the school faces. “Manjeera tap water is supplied to flats nearby, but they have excluded our school. We still rely on borewell water. With drain water flowing openly, we fear contamination,” Mr Raheem said.