Adivasi parents raise a stink about smelly waterless school toilets

Parents from 27 adivasi padas in Aarey Colony, Goregaon East, have decided not to send their kids back to school after the Diwali break ends next week. Around 1,500 children study at the Aarey Municipal School Complex, which comprises five primary and one secondary school

Mumbai: Parents from 27 adivasi padas in Aarey Colony, Goregaon East, have decided not to send their kids back to school after the Diwali break ends next week. Around 1,500 children study at the Aarey Municipal School Complex, which comprises five primary and one secondary school, and is the only civic-run school in Aarey.

Adivasi parents raise a stink about smelly waterless school toilets

The school has fallen foul of parents owing to the non-maintenance of its toilets, washrooms and sewer lines. On Wednesday, parents told HT that they would not send their children back until repairs were done. “For the last three months, there has been no water in the toilets and no taps in the washbasins,” said a parent. “Moreover, the entire complex is suffused with the foul smell emanating from the damaged sewer line.”

Mahendra Yadav, parent of a girl studying in Class 6, said that personal hygiene was important for the children but the school management was not serious about resolving the problem. “This is the reason why the parents of girl students in particular have decided not to send them back to school after the Diwali vacation,” he said.

Rajesh Page, parent of a Class 7 student studying in the Marathi medium school in the complex, added, “The school has toilets but no water. How can my girl child sit in school all day without going to the washroom?”

In 2012, the civic body spent ₹3.42 crore on repair work in the school. “But despite this expense, the school’s infrastructure is even worse than it was earlier,” said Anandray Mogha, a social worker in the Aarey area who moved his three children out of the BMC school to another one outside Aarey Colony. “There are many students from the padas who want good education, are willing to study hard and do well, but most of them drop out of school because of this kind of poor infrastructure. And not a single political leader is bothered about this.”

Vinayak Walvalikar, a former principal of the school, requested the authorities to take prompt action to save the education of girl children in the Aarey forest area. “If this does not happen before the Diwali vacation ends, girl students may drop out,” he said.

When contacted by HT, BMC education officer Rajesh Kankal said that the civic body would take stock of the situation after the Diwali vacation. “We will verify the facts and repair work will be done after inspection,” he said.