Students complain of skin irritation, school to write to BMC to investigate

MUMBAI: SVIS Kandivali West to request BMC checks after students reported skin irritation, possibly due to local pollution and construction dust.

MUMBAI: After a few students of the Swami Vivekanand International School (SVIS) in Kandivali West complained of skin irritation on Monday, prompting the school to start a round of deep cleaning and water tests with no conclusive answers, it has now decided to write to the BMC on Wednesday, asking them to do a round of checks in the surroundings to get to the possible answers to the problem.

Students complain of skin irritation, school to write to BMC to investigate

“On Monday, around 8 to 10 students from two classrooms complained that the skin on their cheeks felt itchy,” said Sandeep Goenka, managing trustee of the school. “The teachers noticed this and alerted us. As a precautionary measure, to protect the grade 1 to 5 students who were yet to arrive for the afternoon batch, we declared a half day to do deep cleaning of the school, test the water, and clean the water tanks.”

The following day, Tuesday, school went on as usual, as no cause for the symptoms were found within the premises.

“No adverse results have been found, and we are unable to ascertain any reason to such a strange occurrence. A parent who consulted a doctor for his child has suggested this skin reaction could be due to pollution and construction dust in the vicinity,” wrote the principal in a letter to the school’s parents on Tuesday. “Parents who are also doctors came forward to investigate the situation and mentioned that this reaction could have been due to the general dust and construction debris from the vicinity.”

Goenka continued, “The students who had complained on Monday were fine on Tuesday, but a few more students complained of a burning sensation and itching on the back of their hands. But on informing their parents, they preferred to stay in school as it was not serious. There is a lot of construction activity in the area, which could possibly be the cause of the itching. Hence, we will be asking the BMC to investigate.”

When contacted, the assistant commissioner of the R South ward, Manish Salwe, said the civic body would inspect the vicinity of the school on Wednesday morning for any possible causes.