The stink often forces students to cover their faces as they pass by the ground.
As Chhaya (name changed) nears her school, she fishes a plastic cover out of her bag and quietly slips it over her head. She can barely see through it, but that's her only defence against the overpowering stench that hits her. She trudges through the dirt road -muddied all the more by a recent spell of rain - doing her best not to glance at the growing mound of garbage lining the path. On reaching the school, Chhaya trundles in, up the stairs and past the countless houseflies, holding back the urge to urinate. It's not yet time 'to go'. She tries to distract herself by fixing her gaze on a mouldy wall. Her classmates start trickling in, but there's no sign of her best friend. She must still be ill, Chhaya tells herself, as the class begins. A little later, the stench from the rotting garbage wafts in with a cool breeze. The students cup their noses - some look like they are going to retch - but there's no pause in lesson.
That's a regular school day in the lives of Chhaya and 814 other students of Chavindra village in Bhiwandi, 20-25 km from Thane city. The municipal school, the only such in the village, is barely 100 m from a dumping ground, where the garbage of all of Bhiwandi's 10 lakh population ends up.
Parents allege that constantly moving garbage trucks leaving and entering the dumping ground are a risk.
The one-storey school, set up around 20 years ago, is falling apart amidst the squalor, as are its students. Sewage from a drain outside spills into the premises. Mosquitoes and flies are everywhere. The floors are rarely cleaned, and only a few of the lights in the classrooms work.
Students walk through filth to get to their school in Chavindra village in Bhiwandi.
The unhygienic conditions have taken a toll on the students' health. Most complain of persistent cough, breathing problems and viral infections. Sarika Sawant, mother of a Std II student, says her seven-year-old takes ill at least once a week. "Two of my other children study in my native village in Satara. My daughter was admitted here in Std I. After this academic year, we'll shift her to a school back in our village."
A wash basin lies unused due to shortage of water.
Nagesh Balaram Bhoir (35) doesn't have the means to send his two sons - Rakesh, a Std III student, and Rahul, a Std I student - elsewhere. "We are aware of the squalid conditions, but there is no other affordable school nearby. Either the school should be shifted or the dumping ground," he suggests.
Since there is little water, the authorities scrimp on cleanliness.
Sawant says the dumping ground is bursting at the seams; dumper trucks track garbage onto the road outside the school. "Dumpers are constantly on the move. It's risky to let the children walk on the road by themselves."
To prevent her child from eating unhygienic food, Sawant has stopped giving her pocket money to buy herself snacks from local shops.
During our visit, we saw a Std II student faint during school hours. He was sent home. "Every day, someone faints or takes ill and has to be sent back home. We had made a culvert to drain out the sewage that collects in the school, but during the monsoon, that work has been rendered futile," says a staffer.
The toilets are reserved for teachers.
He alleges that municipal authorities didn't do even the bare minimum this monsoon: spray and dust an insecticide on the garbage mounds.
Little waterThe school gets water from a 10,000-litre tanker only once a week, forcing school authorities to cut corners on cleanliness and be tight-fisted on provision for students. There is a small wash basin on the premises, but it has not been used in years, and is lined with paan stains. The taps are dry and water has to be carried around in buckets.
The school principal was unavailable for comments.
A Std VII student echoes her peers' dilemma. She says she has repeatedly implored her parents to admit her to another school. But the parents told her categorically that they simply can't afford another school. "They told me to continue here or drop out. I have no other choice but to stay in this school," she says before scurrying away.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)