School is ruined

Bedbugs won’t stop littering nearby Amity Bangalore School, Thanisandra; stench, mosquitoes of the dump affect the health of students

Students from Amity Bangalore School, Thanisandra, have returned to offline lessons, but health problems, caused by piles of garbage, pose a serious challenge to their school life.

When schools were closed due to the pandemic, residents started throwing garbage next to the school. The authorities concerned also cleaned the black spot on several occasions. Unfortunately, garbage bugs continue to dump garbage near the school, regardless of the health of the students.

Arshiya, a mother of two, said the roads were clean and the neighborhood was nice when her children were admitted to school. She said, “There is an empty lot next to the school … People started to throw garbage there.

Arshiya told this reporter that people only started dumping rubbish near the school during the pandemic, when schools were closed due to the first lockdown. “At that time, nobody questioned them … But since the reopening of the school, we ask them to stop for the health of the children. They still continue to dump garbage there.

Arshiya’s oldest daughter, a sixth grader, suffers from epilepsy – a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbances, loss of consciousness or seizures, associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

Stress or any other illness that could cause a high temperature can cause seizures, which are dangerous for her. “She keeps complaining about the mosquitoes and the stench. She doesn’t like going to school anymore. It is also dengue season… We are also afraid to send him to school, ”Arshiya told the Bangalore Mirror (BM).

She said the parents had also raised the issue with the school administration, but the authorities seemed helpless. “Civic agencies need to educate people about the problems caused by littering near schools,” she said.

Priyanka, a teacher at the school, said people were throwing garbage outside the school gate and lots of it was falling on the premises. “Our staff keep cleaning up the garbage, but it only gets worse after the rains… Leachate flows into the premises and stagnant water (from garbage) on the road and the landfill is a place breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The kids keep complaining about the foul smell and ask us to close the windows but we are forced to keep them open due to the covid. After the rains, mosquitoes and flies have also increased in numbers … Students cannot eat properly during lunch breaks because of this, ”she said.

Firdos Sharif, the principal of the school, said management has spoken out on the issue since last year, but city officials have not been strict in enforcing cleanliness or imposing fines on litter bugs to stop this threat. “About 25 to 30 students have fallen ill and parents point to the unsanitary environment around the school. We have tried everything to educate people.

We put up notice boards to prevent them from throwing out trash, we cleaned up the trash ourselves several times and asked Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to clean the place every day too, but to no avail, ”she said.

A BBMP official told BM that the civic body was aware of the situation and regularly cleaned the place. “People who ride two-wheelers throw garbage in their path, mostly at night when no one is looking. We will impose severe fines on them and raise awareness of garbage segregation, ”he said.