When empty school rooms turn into dens of vice

Y. MAHESWARA REDDY | NT Bengaluru, Nov. 2

Alcohol, prostitution - these aren’t the sort of vices that are synonymous with a school campus. However, that’s what happens at a Government Kannada High- er Primary school evening, after students and faculty vacate the premises. Neigh- bours whose houses look out onto the campus were shocked to find miscreants making a beeline for the place after dark, especially the rooftop.

“The school has become a den for anti-social elements, they use the roof- top for all types of activities, including prostitution,” said a resident, who wished to remain anonymous. Every morning, students and staff arrive to the sight of empty liquor bottles strewn across the campus - sordid traces of the previ- ous night’s debauchery. The school itself isn’t in good condition - one portion of the building, the older structure, is on the verge of collapse, making the class- rooms a safety hazard for students and teachers alike.

These have been abandoned and teachers are forced to crowd over 80 students into four small rooms. Students learn sitting on the floor. Appeals for help have gone unheard, said a teacher, on condition of anonymity. Children’s lives are at stake and the building is only a few hundred metres away from the BBMP Head Office but civic authori- ties haven’t even inspected the school yet. High Court advocate and social activ- ist A.R. Shashi Kumar sus- pects more sinister motives are at work.

“The building is spread out over an acre and is worth around Rs 800 crore. It’s possible that land sharks are waiting for the building to collapse so they can grab the land.”