Hyderabad: For the first time in three decades, students and staff of Devnar School for the Blind are no longer afraid of the nightmarish monsoon.
Every monsoon results in accumulation of knee-deep water in front of the institution and water gushing into their rooms. The visually-impaired students are forced to stay indoors during intense spells of rain.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, students and their warden recalled their woes and said that when Hyderabad witnessed floods in 2020, they were inside their rooms for 10 days and the school founder Dr. A. Saibaba Goud had made food arrangements for them.
“At long last, things have become better and more pleasant. We no longer fear rain,” said many students.
The school is run by the Devnar Foundation. Urban flooding has been adversely affecting them for the past 15 years, pointed out school management personnel.
The harrowing days will soon be a thing of the past as the new G+5 building is in its final stages of construction. They are raising the height of the soil to effectively put an end to the problem of inundation.
Warden P. Padma, who has been with the school for the last 26 years said that the knee-deep water inside and at the entrance of the premises was a matter of concern as students are visually-challenged. “Finally our woes have come to an end,” she said.
Praveen, a student, said that insects entering rooms along with water was a major issue.
“I no longer need to adjust myself in the upper floors or stay indoors for hours during monsoon fearing insects,” he said.
Meanwhile, N. Manikanta, a college student using the hostel facility there, said that each student will have ample space and all the issues that are related to flooding, including rancid smell and fear of vector-borne diseases has ended.
Devnar School for the Blind, which is a residential institution, has 550 students, 75 teachers and 40 non-teaching staff. Of the 550 students, 400 are school students and the remaining students are pursuing intermediate. In addition to this, some degree students, who are visually-impaired and study in other institutions, also avail of the free hostel facility here.Speaking about the urban flooding, B. Sudershan, GHMC executive engineer of Begumpet circle, said that a retaining wall has been built to control the urban flooding.
