Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore   

Sewage makes school a nightmare for students

Anasuya Menon

Residents of SIHS Colony also suffer because of unhygienic surroundings

STINKING PROBLEM: A sewage lorry disposing wastewater on a private land near SIHS Colony in the city. — Photo: K. Ananthan

Coimbatore: Students and teachers of K.M.M. Matriculation School at TSK Nagar in Irugur face a peculiar problem. Their school is surrounded by barren land that doubles as an unauthorised "sewage farm."

The stench from the sewage has made school an ordeal for the students. "Parents complain that their children fall ill frequently," says Padma Shankar, principal of the school. "A fifth standard student was hospitalised for 15 days with typhoid. Her parents suspect that the unhygienic surroundings could have been one of the reasons for her illness."

The road cuts through an open land where sewage has been let off unchecked for more than a year.

"Nearly five to 10 trucks carrying sewage come here every day. And, during the rainy season our plight only worsens," Ms. Padma says.

The road is not tarred and students often have to wade through the slush to reach school during rain.

In the morning, the school authorities shut the windows to keep out the stench.

Apart from the students, the residents of dozens of houses in the nearby SIHS Colony near Ondipudur also suffer because of the unhygienic surroundings. The land is private property but within the Coimbatore Corporation limits, prompting residents to demand that the Corporation take action.

A Corporation health official said he had not come across the problem but promised to punish the offenders if anyone complained.

The authorised sites for disposal of sewage are the sewage farms at Ukkadam and Vellalore, he says.

He adds that the public can inform the Corporation office if they spot lorries disposing sewage in unauthorised places.

Even though it is illegal to get rid of sewage in private land, the practice continues unabated.

It also causes gastroenteritis and other water-borne diseases, affects the quality of groundwater and makes land unsuitable for agriculture. Those who come across sewage lorries disposing wastewater on unauthorised land can inform the Corporation office at 2395156.

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