Kochi, July 23 Kerala High Court Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar on Wednesday took suo moto cognisance of a letter addressed to him from around 200 students of SNDP Higher Secondary School, stating that their campus, located below sea-level in Kainakary Grama Panchayat in Kuttanad district of Alappuzha, has been submerged in water for over a month.
In their letter, they pointed out that following the heavy rains for the past 45 days, 20 classrooms have been submerged up to the windowsill level.
They stated that classes are being conducted in 4 rooms that are not submerged, including the library and computer lab.
They also pointed out that despite various representations to the authorities, things remain the same.
Based on the letter, the bench passed an interim order directing the District Collector to call a joint meeting of the officers concerned.
"The District Collector will call for a joint meeting of the officers concerned from the Education Department, Agriculture Department, representative of the school, to ascertain the factual position and issue necessary directions as the District Collector deems fit and warranted to remedy the situation pointed out by the students," it said in the order and posted the case for July 31, when an action taken report has to be submitted.
"Ask the Collector to look into and find out if there are other schools also in the area having a similar problem. Thereafter, the court may consider taking up the larger issue regarding other schools in the area, if any and for long-term solutions," the court orally observed.
It then decided to appoint an amicus curiae to assist it in the matter and directed that KeLSA (Kerala State Legal Services Authority) be included as a respondent and the District Legal Services Authority to carry out a factual enquiry and appraise the amicus, and then file the proper format petition with necessary prayers.
The court’s strong position comes close on the heels of a tragedy that struck a state-aided school in Alappuzha district last week, when a Class 8 student, 13-year-old Mithun, was electrocuted when he climbed on top of a shed in his school to retrieve his footwear, which accidentally became lodged there while they were playing.
Soon after the incident, a blame game began among the authorities concerned.
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