Come rains, this school is flooded with drain water

Teachers and Staff of St, Mary’s High School struggle to segregating which spoil by water from the drain floods the school premises at Rukmini nagar, T Dasarahalli damaging books and uniforms, in Bengaluru on Monday. Photo/ B H Shivakumar

The school after the drainage water flowed inside the premises.

It was a stinky start to the new academic year for students at the Schoenstatt St Mary’s High School and Schoenstatt St Mary’s PU College at Rukmininagar in T Dasarahalli, as water from the drain gushed into the school leaving the campus in utter chaos.

Last week’s rains had the drain next to the school overflowing. Water gushed into the school’s premises damaging the property and destroying the documents inside.

Since Thursday, school authorities have a tough time to have the premises running. On Monday, classes for class 10 and pre-university students reopened amid half cleaned premises and stench.

Speaking to DH, Sister M Joice, principal, Schoenstatt St Mary’s High School, said the incident took place on Thursday last week following heavy rains. A part of the campus could be cleaned with the efforts of the staff.

“Around 7.45 pm, the drain on the left side of the compound wall overflowed. The sewage water and filth flowed into the school compound,” she said.

Even on Monday, the staff could be seen drying documents and uniforms. “Crucial documents, books, uniforms and admission records have been damaged,” she said.

This is not the first time that the school has been experiencing such kind of a situation.

“Even last year, we faced a similar situation post rains. The drain is clogged. The water cannot flow easily,” Joice said.

According to the locals, nearby residents throw garbage into the drain, clogging it often. Last year, the school authorities had to strengthen the compound wall on the back side of the school building and redo it to ensure water does not gush inside.

When contacted, N Manjunath Prasad, commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike said he was unaware of the incident. However, officials in the Dasarahalli Zone were unavailable for a reaction.