In a recent report by The New Indian Express, it was reported that it has been three weeks since Ramanagara district was pounded by heavy rain, flooding many areas. But students and teachers of the Government Upgraded Higher Primary School in Thattekere area of Channapatna town in Karnataka still cannot enter their school as four feet of water has inundated its premises, making it inaccessible.

Local authorities have not taken any action to remove water from the school, while the students, left with no other option, are attending classes at a nearby temple. Thattekere is around 60 km from Bengaluru and 11 km from Ramanagara. The school has more than 60 students from Classes I to VIII, five teachers and two staff members, including cooks to prepare mid-day meals.

Local residents said the school, which is over 30 years old, is spacious and has compound walls. The school was flooded on August 26, a week before the Gowri-Ganesha festival, after a small waterbody nearby was breached. Lakshmi, who has been working as a cook at the school for the last 20 years, said all the grains kept for mid-day meals were spoilt.

The attendance books and other documents too have been damaged. “We cannot even enter the school as water is around four feet,” she explained. “The school is in a low-lying area, making it easy for water to enter the premises. Even if water is removed, it keeps entering from the nearby lake,” she added. For drinking and cooking purposes, water is sourced from local residents.