Nagpur: The first day of the new academic session at Sanjay Gandhi Hindi Primary School, run by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), began on a sour note on Tuesday. Students were welcomed not by clean classrooms and safe surroundings, but by a waterlogged campus and a playground usurped by illegal encroachments.The sorry state of affairs drew a strong reaction from municipal commissioner Vipin Itankar during a visit to the school. Large portions of the school playground were found submerged after the rains, while encroachments further reduced the available open space. Parents and locals said the problems are not new and remained unresolved despite repeated complaints.Accompanied by education committee chairperson Santosh Laddha, Itankar questioned how children are expected to begin their academic year in such conditions. Calling the situation unacceptable, Itankar reprimanded civic officials while making it clear that the safety of schoolchildren cannot be compromised.Itankar directed officials to immediately remove encroachments, improve drainage and restore the campus for students without delay. TOI tried to contact Laddha, but he didn’t respond.The inspection also cast a spotlight on the functioning of the NMC’s education wing. The Sanjay Gandhi Primary School is one of the corporation’s most sought-after Hindi-medium institutions, with an enrolment of more than 800 students from Classes 1 to 10. The education department and the education committee have come under scrutiny for failing to ensure basic facilities and proper monitoring before schools reopened.Itankar’s inspection was part of the civic body’s ‘School Chale Hum’ initiative, under which senior officials visited municipal schools on the opening day to encourage enrolment and welcome students. However, the ground reality at the Sanjay Gandhi school stood in stark contrast to the campaign’s message.The incident exposed serious lapses in the upkeep of civic schools, at a time when the NMC has been projecting efforts to improve the quality of municipal education. The condition of the Sanjay Gandhi Primary School campus also raises questions about pre-monsoon preparedness and whether schools were inspected before reopening.
