SELF HELP: Students of Baby High School dig up a portion of Muthulinga Reddy street to drain sewage and stagnant water from the school. — Photo: A.Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: Students of Baby High School in West Tambaram picked up the crowbar and shovel and started digging the road opposite the school to drain water stagnating inside their school premises.

The students were left with no option as complaints from school authorities and parents to the Tambaram Municipality proved futile.

The heavy rain on Monday morning and night led to stagnation near the stage. The worst affected were students of the first and second standards, who had to wade through water to reach their classrooms.

The school authorities and parents, who came to drop their children, complained to engineers and staff of the municipality. According to parents, a couple of staff visited the school. They identified the cause of the problem — there were "some blocks' — and left without taking any steps to drain the water.

Shocking sight

Left with no option, a staffer of the school, with the help of the students, started to dig a channel across the road so that water could be let off into the drain on the other side of Muthulinga Street. Some parents were shocked at the sight of students using crowbars and shovels. They wondered why the municipality was unable to attend to even such basic problems, resulting in children working on the streets when they ought to be attending classes. As the corner of Muthulinga Street is used an open toilet, at times, sewage water mixes with rainwater and enters the school premises as it is slightly lower than the street level.

And students entered the water barefoot, exposing themselves to unhygienic conditions, the parents said.

Aanai Panneerselvam, convener of Makkal Maamandram in Tambaram, said the school was among the few schools where poor children studied. And depriving these students of even the basic facilities only pointed to the attitude of the government agencies concerned. He said sanitary conditions in the school were appalling. The classrooms for the first and second standards were situated very close to the toilet. "These students attend classes put up with the unbearable stench throughout the day."

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