No cakewalk: It's mud-slinging all the way to school in Mailardevpally

HYDERABAD: Ever heard the older generations saying 'we used to cross rivers without bridges and climb mountains to reach our schools'? Students of the Greenwich Academy, a private school in Mailardevpally of Ranga Reddy district, will tell their grandchildren that they had difficulty getting to school because of a mere 500-metre road that approached the school.

Students, parents and staff of the school expressed their angst over a 500-m road that reaches the school which was in a state of disrepair since 2018.

Reportedly, the school's management lodged a complaint with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in 2018 and have been repeatedly sending reminders in the form of letters to the Rajendranagar GHMC Deputy Commissioner. However, the GHMC officials did not respond to the issue, worsening the road's condition year-by-year.

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After multiple reminders, through various modes, upon failure of action from the GHMC, the school took up the pipeline work and spent around Rs 5 lakhs. However, due to not having a proper connecting pipeline plan, resources and other required permissions, the problem was not solved to its full extent and was still persistent.

After the incessant rains in 2022, the situation worsened to an extent where parents and staff notified the school that they would withdraw their admissions. The school, which was established 11 years ago, was at a risk of losing its reputation because of a small 500-m road.

A small lake-like waterbody beside the school added to the problem as it overflowed every time there was a downpour, they said. The school management also said that the school's support staff, drivers and ayammas, manually put sand sacks around the overflowing lake to stop the water from entering the approach road.

Speaking to NewsTAP, the Principal expressed anguish by saying, " Every day I fear that the parents are going to attack me or my staff with their complaints. They blame the management for not taking any action to resolve this issue. We are equally concerned about the safety of staff and students.The management has been trying to resolve this issue for three Monsoons now. However, there was no support provided by the GHMC. We are just hoping that the officials help us fix the problem."

The sub-staff, who were made to stop the flow by putting sandbags, said, " We never expected that we would be made to do this kind of manual work, but what else could we do, we have to follow the instructions so that students don't suffer."

A lady teacher who commutes on a two-wheeler said, "I have to park my vehicle in a nearby lane and get into the school bus to cross this stretch of deplorable lane."

Students, who were dropped by autowalas, said, "The auto uncles are refusing to bring us to school and are charging extra from our parents. Our parents are thinking of changing our school. We love this school. We do not know when and how this problem will be solved but we do hope that it is."