Govt. school campus remains slushy after NHAI demolition work

Demolition of 8 dilapidated classrooms of Government Boys Higher Secondary School successful Thiruvalam adjacent Katpadi successful Vellore by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) arsenic portion of its widening enactment has enactment hundreds of students astatine risk, arsenic the schoolhouse field has go slushy and uneven for implicit a period now.

Tucked betwixt Katpadi railway presumption and Thiruvalluvar University, the authorities school, which was built successful 1966, has astir 300 students betwixt Class VI and XII. Most of the students are from the surrounding farming villages. “With the Northeast monsoon having begun, the schoolhouse field has turned worse, particularly aft demolition, owed to unevenness and immense slush successful the razed field area. We are disquieted astir the information of students,” said S. Roja, headmistress.

Spread implicit 3 acres, the schoolhouse has 12 moving classrooms. Eight aged classrooms were declared arsenic unfit by PWD a fewer years ago.

A period ago, NHAI demolished a information of the schoolhouse compound partition and 8 unused classrooms successful the field for widening of Bengaluru - Chennai Highway. School authorities said that the existing h2o pipelines to Over Head Tank (OHT) and washrooms successful the schoolhouse were damaged during demolition work.

The schoolhouse besides remained without powerfulness proviso for galore days aft electrical lines were snapped during demolition work. “After our request, section Tangedco officials repaired electrical lines and restored powerfulness proviso to the school. We repaired damaged h2o pipelines to reconstruct h2o proviso successful the campus,” the headmistress said.

Four lane route

As per estimates, the expressway volition beryllium converted into a 4 lane route, astatine slightest 90 metres wide. Elevated bridges, underpasses and toll plazas among its different features, NHAI officials said.

Of the full 258 km, 92 km of the task comes successful 3 districts — Vellore (11.67 km), Ranipet (42.33 km) and Kancheepuram (38 km). A full of 426.19 hectares — 113 successful Vellore and 313.19 successful Ranipet— has been acquired for the purpose. Acquired onshore includs houses, schoolhouse buildings, workplace wells, coconut groves on the stretch.

Officials of the School Education Department said Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi and S. Premalatha, Chief Educational Officer (CEO), Vellore, were informed astir the information of the schoolhouse campus.

Officials besides said that NHAI has agreed to wage a compensation of ₹4 crore for demolished structures successful the schoolhouse field for roadworthy work. “Despite insubstantial enactment done, NHAI has not deposited the compensation magnitude into the School Education Department slope account. Only then, PWD tin beryllium roped successful to bash the repair works successful the campus,” said an authoritative of the department.