Mangaluru: Parents of 630 students have warned they will pull their children out of Uppinangady’s Govt Upgraded Model School if the sewage flowing along the campus boundary is not stopped within a month. Despite years of appeals, untreated sewage has continued to flow into an open drain bordering the school, causing a stench, unhygienic conditions and fears of a disease outbreak. Parents, school development and monitoring committee (SDMC) members and school officials have sought immediate intervention from local authorities to fix the long-pending drainage problem.
Mohiuddin Kutty, an SDMC member, said he has pursued the issue for five years. “We submitted the complaint to almost every department, be it health, education, panchayat, or district administration, and also raised the issue during the Jana Spandana meeting conducted by the chief minister in Bengaluru. However, nothing moved. The local panchayat received communication and did an inspection, but nothing happened beyond that. The rajakaluve, which is close to the school compound, continued to carry wastewater rather than rainwater and joined the river. The wastewater discharged from residential complexes and houses,” he said, adding that the 190-year-old govt school continues to face inconvenience. “We tried everything and ran from pillar to post to resolve the issue, but there was no solution. As a last resort, we decided not to send our wards to school as a mark of protest,” Kutty said.
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Locals said the open drain is causing health problems for children. They said parents and residents submitted multiple memorandums to Uppinangady panchayat but received no response. “The school has about 630 children, including 75 in LKG/UKG. There is heavy mosquito breeding due to the drainage. Why are the local authorities not doing anything to find a solution to this? Is it because they are govt school students?” a local asked.The school’s old students’ association has joined the protest. “We will support the SDMC and school authorities. We want to resolve this long-pending issue, which is an inconvenience to the students,” said Zachariah Kodipaddy, secretary of the alumni association.Dr HR Thimmaiah, DHO, said he would depute officers to inspect the area. “We will check and take necessary action if there is mosquito breeding in that school area,” he said.Panchayat development officer Wilfred Lawrence Rodrigues was not available for comment.
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