Civic school runs into monorail roadblock

Plans to rebuild Sai Baba Path School in Lalbaug face delays due to MMRDA objections over monorail pillars, leaving 700 students displaced.

MUMBAI: Plans to rebuild a popular municipal school in Lalbaug have, quite literally, run into a roadblock – the towering pillars of a monorail station – leaving around 700 displaced students struggling in unfamiliar schools.

Mumbai, India - Feb. 17, 2025: Brihanmumbai Municipal corporation (BMC) is struggling to reconstruct its highly demanded Sai Baba path BMC school after the MMRDA raised the concern over the pilling work of the new construction will effect on the nearby pilers of the Monorail. Students and parents are demanding to reopen school as soon as possible, at Lalbaug in Mumbai, India, on Monday, February 17, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been told that piling work for the proposed new school building would damage the pillars of the Mint Colony Monorail Station. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which operates the Mumbai Monorail, has raised objections that have delayed plans to reconstruct the school.

The Sai Baba Path School, a six-story institution with primary and secondary sections, was a crucial educational hub for the local community before it was shut during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The premises were used to store medical materials used to treat Covid patients when an oxygen cylinder exploded, causing a fire. The already weak structure suffered further damage, so the BMC decided to demolish it and construct a new building last year.

When the school shut, its 700-odd students were relocated to municipal schools in Parmanand Wadi and Peru Compound. However, parents say these schools are too far for local children and have consistently urged the BMC and political leaders to reopen the Sai Baba Path School.

Parents and local residents have also questioned the MMRDA’s selective objections, pointing out that private buildings have been constructed around the monorail without any opposition. So why object to this school?

Local residents, still haunted by the tremors caused by the monorail’s construction, question the MMRDA’s double standards. Local resident Sandesh Ayre said, “Objections raised by locals were not heard when piling work for the monorail was carried out. What right do they have to object to the school’s construction?”

Ayre also said the Sai Baba Path School was much sought-after among Lalbaug’s residents. “There was a time when there were so many admission applications that parents had to present recommendations from political leaders to secure admission for their children. Also, the school had an excellent reputation, prompting the BMC to introduce an English-medium section. It excelled in academics, sports and scholarships; now we have lost all this,” he said.

Students relocated to Peru Compound have also raised concerns about overcrowding. A Class 9 student said, “We were given only three classrooms for Classes 7 to 10. As a result, two classes have been merged, with over 70 students crammed into a room meant for 39. It’s hard to study in such an environment.”

A Class 10 student said he was sad to lose friends due to the relocation. “When our schools shut, many of my friends transferred to private schools.”

Deputy municipal commissioner (Education) Prachi Jambhekar confirmed the MMRDA’s objections but said a solution had been identified. “After MMRDA raised their concerns, we sought advice from IIT-Bombay and VJTI. The latter said there was a way out but implementing it would mean raising the fees. The approval process for this has been completed, and construction will commence soon,” Jambhekar claimed.