Nagpur: Over a thousand students of Somalwar Nikalas School in Khamla were trapped for almost two hours after heavy rain flooded the campus on Tuesday. NMC’s fire and emergency department personnel were roped in to rescue the stranded students.School management told TOI that they had alerted the NMC about the safety risk posed by the unfinished civic works outside its only usable gate. “The rainwater flooded our campus because of the pending road construction work,” Damodar Thombre, principal of the school said.NMC chief fire officer, Kishore Barahate, said rescue personnel were dispatched as soon as the emergency call was received. “Our staff ensured that all students were brought out of the school safely. The students are safe and the rescue operation was carried out smoothly,” Barahate said.Two of the school’s exit gates were rendered unusable due to ongoing road excavation and pipeline work outside the campus. The remaining access gate was submerged under waist deep water, cutting off movement within the school.“We have never seen such waterlogging near the school. The road work began in June, right in the middle of the monsoon. Basic planning would have ensured that such work was completed during the summer vacation,” a school official said. He added that they wrote twice to the municipal commissioner over the issue.Residents of the area blamed the civic body for undertaking the works of water supply and sewer line during the peak monsoon, leaving deep excavations and blocked exits. They questioned why repeated warnings from the school administration were ignored and asked whether the civic body was waiting for a tragedy before acting.In a letter to the municipal commissioner on July 14, principal Thombre said the civil works being carried out in front of the main gates were blocking the only approach road used by students, parents, and staff. The road work caused congestion and hardship during school hours. Thombre warned that the excavation and debris restricted movement near the gates and caused a potential safety risk. He asked NMC to expedite and complete the work at the earliest and provide adequate safety measures at the site during school hours.In the letter, Thombre also cautioned that while the school was taking all reasonable precautions within its premises, conditions on the public road remained outside its control. Sources said no action was taken despite repeated reminders from the school officials resulting in Tuesday’s hazardous situation.
