Toilet containers yet to be installed in 65 Amravati schools, poor material alleged

Pre-fabricated sanitary facilities, or toilet containers, sent for schoolchildren in Amravati have not been installed in schools for several months. The containers were supplied for 65 schools in Pavardha Prathalda. Where some containers have been installed, the material used is said to be substandard, raising questions over the quality of the entire work.

The Maharashtra Rajya Prathamik Shikshak Samiti has raised the issue. The samiti demands that incomplete work be finished using good-quality material.

Complaints have also surfaced from schools where toilets have been set up. It is alleged that the material used is of inferior grade. Cracks have appeared in the walls, tiles and floor stones are breaking, and the quality of the remaining material is also unsatisfactory. In many schools the installation is incomplete, so the containers are lying unused on the school premises.

The samiti says the pre-fabricated sanitary facilities should be installed in full as specified in the work order. It demands that the remaining work be completed immediately, using material of the quality and durability specified in the work order.

The toilets were procured through the Maharashtra Primary Education Council, Mumbai, and sent out for installation in schools. The contract for the work was given to Pawar Patkar Construction Private Limited of Nashik, which delivered the containers for schools in the district. Containers were sent to some schools in March and to others in May and July. Even so, they have still not been installed in many schools.

Vijay Kombe, state president of the teachers' samiti, has submitted a memorandum to Parag Soman, administrator and chief executive officer of the Zilla Parishad, and Seema Patil, primary education officer, urging both officials to look into the matter.

The samiti hopes that quality and safety of the work will be given top priority while providing toilet facilities for children in schools. All eyes are now on what action the department concerned takes on the complaint to complete the unfinished work and check the quality of the material. The information was given by Rajesh Savarkar, state publicity head of the teachers' samiti.