HT Impact: Aarey School gets clean toilets, water taps

Mumbai: On the first day after the Diwali break, students of the Aarey Municipal School Complex (AMSC) were delighted to find clean toilets and water supply in the washrooms

Mumbai: On the first day after the Diwali break, students of the Aarey Municipal School Complex (AMSC) were delighted to find clean toilets and water supply in the washrooms.

HT Image

On Wednesday, their parents, following the principal’s request last week, sent their children to the school and were glad to find that their issues were addressed.

On November 3, HT reported that parents from 27 adivasi padas in Aarey Colony had decided not to send their kids back to school after the Diwali break ends on November 9, owing to the non-maintenance of toilets, washrooms and sewer lines. Around 1,500 children study at AMSC, which comprises five primary schools and one secondary school.

Following the report, assistant municipal commissioner (AMC) of P-South ward Rajesh Akre ordered repairs of the toilets in schools before the vacation ends. On November 9, Nisar Khan, superintendent of west zone, along with the school’s administrative officer Nisha Yadav, principal Sarojkumar Yadav and a representative of the contractor visited the school and reviewed the repair works.

Khan said the school is currently undergoing major repairs. “We went around the school complex with parents and a social worker, cleaning toilets and doing other toilet-related work right before the school reopened. Now, we are completing other repair work simultaneously,” added Khan.

“Some parents and social workers have discovered some glitches. We are attempting to resolve them after discussions with all of them,” he added.

Manjudevi Bharti, parent of a student, said, “We decided to send my child to school only after the school management communicated to us that the toilets have been repaired.”

Lalmati Prasad, another parent of a student, said, “If civic schools can provide smart boards, they should also be able to provide clean toilets and washrooms. Now, we are happy to send our children to school.”

In 2012, the civic body had spent ₹3.42 crore on repair work in the school. But despite the expense, the school’s infrastructure was not improved. The parents had claimed that for the last three months, there has been no water in the toilets and no taps in the washbasins.

“Student education is our top priority. So, we gave them infrastructural facilities before they joined school after Diwali vacation. We finished necessary repair work on top priority,” said Akre.