Deonar municipal school becomes hub for drug addicts

While the Deonar Colony Municipal School runs classes during the day, it has become a hub for drug addicts during the night. Students and teachers of the school, which has a strength of 2,000, have complained that the large premises of the school is also used by groups of outsiders during the day, to sit and have a conversation while smoking cigarettes. This is thanks to a missing compound wall, lack of security personnel on the premises and an open, broken school gate that gives direct access to the road.

After the issue was brought to light by corporator and education committee member Shivnath Darade, the entire municipal administration has taken cognisance of the gravity of the situation. Mr Darade also met municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta on Friday, who has said that he would fix the problem soon.

Students admitted that they come to school in the morning and see a lot of cigarette butts and empty bottles lying around. Mr Darade said, “I visited the school and noticed a lot of garbage. During my day time visit, a group of youngsters was sitting and smoking on the premises.”

However, this is not the only set of problems the school faces. A part of the compound wall has been broken down and residents of the nearby slum areas have encroached on the premises by constructing a makeshift hut. A school faculty member who did not wish to be named said, “We have complained several times but no one took notice of our situation. Now that the issue has come to light, the deputy municipal commissioner of our area is going to visit the school next week.”

The building does not have an electricity connection since July 11, as a lot of wiring and electric fitting got stolen from the premises.

The school currently houses two buildings, an old building that runs Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and English medium schools and a new building that houses the Urdu medium school. The new building has faced maximum problems, as it overlooks an unattended nullah.