CHENNAI: Government school students in Poonamallee were asked to return home as localities pumped out water stagnating in their residences and streets that flowed into the school playgrounds overnight.
Schools in Tiruvallur were all set to reopen on Monday after an extended 30-day break because of heavy rains and floods.
The Public Work Department (PWD) officials who cleared the school premises were puzzled to see water stagnating again on the playgrounds and flooding some classrooms on the ground floor.
When an Express photographer visited the waterlogged Arignar Anna Government Higher Secondary School, Poonamallee, he saw students and parents who assembled in front of the school on the reopening day (Monday) being asked to return home.
The school authorities said it would be difficult for primary and secondary students to enter their classrooms, hence classes were postponed till Tuesday.
However classes for the Class X and XII students continued.
The local PWD official told Express that water from a nearby construction site was pumped out using motors to the school by making two holes in the boundary wall overnight.
“Similar issues were identified in 12 other schools in Tiruvallur district and in five out of these 12 instances (Porur, Mogappair, Thiruvottiyur) localities pumped out stagnated water into government schools as there were no security guards,” the official added.
The officials claimed that temporary walkways through the playground using quarry dust to connect classrooms would be completed on Monday night so that students could attend classes from Tuesday.
The officials were busy clearing knee-deep water from the Poonamallee Government Girls Higher Secondary School till late evening.