Renovation of 418 schools in Mysuru damaged in flood gathers pace

Mysuru: Government schools across Mysuru district that sustained severe damage during the flood last year being renovated, and will be restored and rebuilt at the earliest. The state government has allocated a sum of Rs 8 crore to the department of public instruction, Mysuru to this end.
Among the 3,400 schools that were left damaged the flood left a trail of destruction across Mysuru last year, 418 have been selected now for renovation. The government sanctioned the funds following the submission of a report by the DPI. The report was drafted by engineers of the public works department (PWD), who assessed the extent of damage to the structures, and then submitted the same to the deputy commissioner.
The school buildings were classified into various categories based on the extent of damage, which included those that needed renovation and some that needed to be razed, and would have to be rebuilt from the ground.
The engineering division of the Mysuru zilla panchayat has been entrusted the task of rebuilding and fixing the 418 schools. While work on roughly 209 schools has been completed, the remaining structures are still being worked on.
Deputy director of public instruction, Mysuru Panduranga said that work on the schools commenced after the DC greenlighted the initiative last November. “The pace of work slackened after the initial months owing to the pandemic. A sum of Rs 2 lakh was allocated for repair of each school. All the buildings will be in perfect condition in time for the reopening of the schools,” Panduranga told TOI.
Member of the Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights VP Niranjanaradhya urged the government to expedite work on the damaged school buildings. “The government must use the time available now, with all schools staying shut owing to the pandemic. The students will be much pleased to see their schools in solid condition when they return in September, which is when they are slated for reopening,” he told TOI.
Shivaswamy, a parent of a student in Vyasarajapura in T Narasipura taluk, said that many children in the village often gave classes a miss owing to the poor condition of the school building. He expressed delight with the initiative being taken to fix those structures that were damaged by rain last year.