CHENNAI: Ever thought how it would feel consuming food from a kitchen shed that’s located right next to a sewage pumping station? Well, this might soon be the scenario at the Government Primary School located in Annai Sivagami Nagar. When City Express visited the school recently, metal rods were found erected on the playground to demarcate the space for the sewage pumping station.
A teacher at the school pointed out that if such a structure were to come up, many students might discontinue their studies.
“How will parents send their children to a school which has a sewage pumping station right within the campus? There is so much risk. It is not just the stink, it may even cause skin diseases. How much ever precautions we teachers take, there is always the risk of students going near it and meeting with accidents,” she said.
It was in August this year that the school authorities first got wind of the construction of the pumping station. “We immediately approached every authority including the Mayor and the CM Cell. We organised protests. We got a reply later from the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board (CMWSSB) saying that the construction will have to continue,” says S Kumar, a school management committee member.
In spite of government schools losing out to private ones over the last few years, the school has been able to retain its students, said local residents of the area.
“A lot of work has been done to maintain the strength of the school. We have 100 students in the primary and around 200 in the high school next to it. It is only recently that we received a fund of `45 lakh for infrastructure development on the campus. We were even planning to get some infrastructure for the playground where the pumping station is coming up now. But now, we do not know whether parents will send their children here anymore,” said Kumar.
Officials from CMWSSB, meanwhile, said that they had already received the land from the municipality for the sewage pumping station. “We have received the land from the Municipality. That is the only area allotted where we could set up the pumping station. We will be taking up all precautionary measures to ensure the complete safety of the students,” said a spokesperson from the board.