One of the high-class areas in the city, Film Nagar, immediately brings to mind luxurious buildings owned by Tollywood stars, good restaurants and of course, the omnipresent high-end vehicles. But the ‘Dream Nagar’ when viewed closely gives a different picture.
A visit to the government primary school located in Film Nagar’s slum area tells its nightmare.
According to a teacher at school, when it rains, drainage water floods the school and even reaches up to the stairs compelling children to paddle through the dirty water to enter classrooms.
Telangana government’s much-hyped Swachh Hyderabad initiative took place in Film Nagar too, but seems officials conveniently ignored the school.
The school kids when peep out of their classrooms finds a stinking sewage and drainage water-filled premises. Needless to say, the air in the classrooms is thick with the odor of the garbage.
Though the school authorities and people living in the neighborhood have approached the government officials several times, no corrective action has been taken so far. “This has been the case for the past three years. Many officials have come and left but nothing changed,” said Krishna.
Amid these unhygienic conditions, children drink water from a dusty old tank which may not be safe. “Drinking water is provided every alternate day. Sometimes, when there is no drinking water available, the children are forced to drink bore water,” Krishna says, adding that children keep falling sick every now and then.
“A lot of them get fever very regularly due to the filthy surroundings. We have a medical kit, we keep giving them tablets for fever. But there are cases when the fever does not subside, so we take them to a private hospital,” he explains.
When contacted School administrators, they said “even we are helpless until the govt takes measures to change the picture.