RAWALPINDI: The recent spell of torrential rain has exposed the drainage system of two education institutions of the city.

Rainwater has inundated classrooms and offices of Comprehensive High School Dhoke Kashmirian (Boys) and Hashmat Ali Islamia College, which are located in a depression.

Since these institutions don’t have any system to pump out rainwater, their administrations had to suspend educational activities.

Educational activities remain suspended in the institutions

During a visit to the institutions on Saturday, Dawn observed that it was next to impossible for students and teachers to enter the buildings.

Students and teachers said they faced similar situation every monsoon, and had been requesting the relevant authorities for years to fix this problem, but to no avail.

The classes in Comprehensive High school, where over 1,500 students study, could not be held for the last two days, as rainwater has been standing in classrooms, verandas and lawns of the institution.

“We are helpless as we have no idea how to pump out this water. Students did come on Friday and Saturday but, after seeing the situation in the school, they left,” said Comprehensive High School Principal Mohammad Yasin.

Mr Yasin said he had been in touch with the concerned authorities to at least get the classrooms and offices cleared of rainwater “but no one is taking this matter seriously”.

Staff shifting files out of Hashmat Ali Islamia College.& The inundated classrooms of Comprehensive High School.

“The school is situated in a low-lying area, and lacks sewerage system. Without a proper sewerage system, this problem cannot be fixed,” the principal said.

On Saturday, a large number of residents of the area visited the schools to see the situation. “This attitude of the education department and the city district government is unjustified. This problem occurs every year, but nobody pays any attention to this grave issue,” said Mohammad Qamar, a resident of the area.

The situation in intermediate section of Islamia College was not different. Professor Munir Gilani, the principal of the college, said that majority of students did not turn up when they heard about rainwater inundating the classrooms.

He, however, said that those students who came to the college on Saturday were shifted to a nearby newly constructed building of the college, where graduate classes take place.

“This is not a new phenomenon for us. We have to face it every year,” Mr Gilani said and added that the college did not have a sewerage system.

The principal said: “We are trying to shift important office files of the intermediate section to the new building. But it is hard for us as the premises of the college have at least one feet deep water inundation.”

Talking to Dawn, Rawalpindi Deputy Director Colleges Rana Javaid said that the department was trying to fix the problem.

“Since the college is situated in a low-lying area, water enters the buildings from all sides during monsoon, creating problems for students and teachers,” he said and added that a sewerage system will not solve the problem but assured that the department would fix this very soon.

On Sunday, a few teachers were present in the college and school to supervise the pumping out of water, but they had no success.

“With the water still standing there, it would be difficult to resume classes on Monday. However we are trying our best to pump out the water and start classes,” said Chaudhry Yasin, principal of Comprehensive High School.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2014