Ponmudi school seeks water, compound wall

Thiruvananthapuram: Ponmudi Government UP School is located at a place which would make many premier educational institutes elsewhere envious. But the school, nestled on the lap of Ponmudi, one of the best hill stations in the Western Ghats, faces serious infrastructure issues.
The school does not have a well or water connection and has been depending on the neighbouring stream for drinking, cooking breakfast and mid-day meals. The school, which sits on a 2. 25-acre campus next to forestland, does not have a compound wall to keep off wild animals, which threatens the safety of the students and teachers there. And, as a result, the school which used to have more than 300 students a couple of years ago has only 19 students now.

“For the past one-and-a-half years we are using the water from a stream which is 500 metres away from the school,” said headmistress of the school, Omana. Incidentally, there is a borewell near the school constructed by the Ground Water Authority to check the water level. “While the officials of Ground Water Authority came for the monthly checking of the water level, we inquired them about the possibilities to take water from the borewell through a pipe connection, but they denied permission for it,” she said.

More than the water issue, it is the lack of a compound wall that worries the teachers and students in the school. Wild animals including elephants, bears, wild boars and porcupines enter the school compound at will.

“We cannot allow our students to go out because we fear attack by animals. Since it is all about the safety of children most parents send their wards to other schools which are 20 to 24 km away,” added the headmistress.

Raising these issues, the PTA had approached Peringamala panchayat. Though the panchayat expressed their willingness to build a compound wall, the district forest officer raised an objection. DFO D Ratheesh said that the school did not have documents to prove the ownership of the property. “They don’t have any valid documents saying that the land is owned by the school. The school has 80 cents where they can dig a well. The rest of the land is encroached and shares boundaries with the forest department’s land and ecologically fragile land. We cannot allow constructions there,” said Ratheesh.

However, the headmistress said they have a document issued in 1964 by then deputy range officer through Palode Village Office which declares that the school was situated on 2.25 acres.