After mid-day’s report on August 8 highlighting the state of disarray outside Mumbai Public School, Natwar Parekh Compound, Govandi, officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) solid waste management (SWM) department visited the site to tackle the rubbish and garbage piled up at the school gate. The building was constructed for Govandi’s first CBSE school, but it remains inaccessible to more than 600 students because the newly built structure is surrounded by dirt roads and heaps of garbage.
According to members of the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), waste management officials arrived on Friday but could not begin work due to heavy rains. They began cleaning on Monday and continued into Tuesday, clearing a portion of the garbage outside the new CBSE school building, the PTA members said. “We began work on Monday and deployed a JCB dumper to remove the garbage surrounding the school in the Natwar Parekh Compound. Within a day, we cleared a large portion. If any waste remains, the SWM department will handle it as well,” said an official from the solid waste management department.
However, PTA members say questions remain over who is responsible for removing the construction debris at the site. “If we get the necessary clearance, I can personally help clear the construction debris outside the school,” said a parent who also works as a BMC contractor. On August 8, this newspaper reported that nearly 600 students enrolled in Govandi’s first BMC-run CBSE school were still attend classes at a neighbouring BMC school despite having a brand-new building allotted to them.
The delay was caused by the surrounding garbage and poor access roads. While garbage clearance is underway, parents and school officials are still waiting for clarity on the creation of the recommended nine-metre access roads to the building. The CBSE school is now in its second academic year, offering pre-primary and primary classes for Std I to VII, with nearly 700 admissions still on the waitlist, officials said.
