Chennai: R. Sanjana (name changed), a class eight student of Anakaputhur Government Higher Secondary School, could be seen running to her residence after school every evening, to relieve herself. The pathetic restrooms coupled with the water scarcity problem are keeping many girls like Sanjana to avoid using the restrooms in their school. In an uncomfortable situation, they just don't urinate during the seven-odd hours in the school.
Water scarcity, which is plaguing residents in the city, has new victims: schools. While private schools get away with the problem by opting to the private water tankers, the cash-starved government schools are facing the heat. Students complain that the restrooms in the Government Higher Secondary School in Anakaputhur have been dry since the school was recently re-opened after the vacation. While Sanjana was uncomfortable to talk about her situation, her mother questioned, “How can students focus on studies when the basic needs are not taken care of? I was told that the restrooms were always stinky due to the absence of water.”
She hoped that the recent showers should be a respite to the water problem. Besides the water scarcity situation, there are serious lapses in the infrastructure in the bathrooms. Broken pipelines, lack of buckets and filthy overhead tanks is a common situation in the restrooms at government schools.Erratic supply of metro water at Jaigopal Garodia Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Nanganallur is irking students. A teacher seeking anonymity said, “There would be a delay in the supply of metro water, even after we order the tankers online. But we always try to fill the gap.”
Students of Panchayat Union Middle School of Vallipuram in Kanchipuram are not willing to use their restrooms, which has no continuous water supply. They also face a problem of drinking water crisis. A student told Deccan Chronicle, “The tanks are not clean and remain uncovered. As the water is not hygienic, we don't drink it.”
