Schoolchildren wade through sewage flowing on to road

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 31

Schoolchildren have emerged as the most vulnerable victims of civic authorities’ apathetic attitude towards providing basic amenities in the town and surrounding areas.

While walking or cycling to school on potholed roads was already a nightmare, wading through sewage mixed rainwater becomes even more dangerous due to hidden potholes and the toxicity of contaminated water for the children’s tender skin.

Observations revealed that the roads and streets leading to almost all government and private schools in the town and surrounding areas were in poor condition. Besides being potholed, these roads were frequently submerged under overflowing sewage. The situation worsens during rainstorms, when almost all roads become dangerous for teenage cyclists and pedestrians.

Jain Public School, Lal Bahadur Shastri Public School, Islamia Senior Secondary School, Guru Nanak Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Government Senior Secondary School Bajrang Akhara Road, Government Elementary School Susheel Basti, and MGMN Senior Secondary School, Thana road, were among the institutes with the worst-maintained roads.

Residents led by social activists Rajan Ghaie and Anish Ghaie said the Ahmedgarh Municipal Council had failed to provide adequate civic amenities necessary to live a dignified life.

“Though the quality of civic amenities provided during the past decades was not good at any time, the situation has become worse now when schoolchildren have emerged as the worst sufferers,” said Anish Ghaie.

Residents have urged authorities to repair or construct captioned roads so that residents, including students, could walk comfortably. Councillor Vikas Krishan Sharma justified the residents’ demand by stating that tenders for projects totalling Rs 3.76 crore had recently been passed and that work on the majority of the roads would begin soon.