Chennai Citizen Connect: Wall collapse at Perambur Corporation school raises safety concerns

CHENNAI: The collapse of the compound wall of the Corporation Girls High School in Gurumurthy Garden Street in Perambur last week has raised serious safety concerns.

Fearing that it poses a huge risk for the students, the residents say that the vegetation growing near the wall has made it weak and appears to collapse completely in the near future.

Given the onset of monsoon, the rainwater stagnation also adds to the risk.

The wall collapse had killed three cows, which were tied on the footpath last week. But even now, the civic authorities have just made a temporary fix by placing a metal mesh, which does not address the risk related to the safety of the public on the roads and footpaths.

“Since the wall collapsed towards the road, it is a danger for the public. When the work on stormwater drains adjacent to the wall commenced, we urged the authorities to clear the construction debris dumped near the wall,” said Raghukumar Choodamani, a resident of Perambur.

The accumulation of rainwater has been noticed in pits near the wall, which is likely to cause more damage to the wall. Moreover, the debris dug up from the pits has been dumped over the wall.

Residents have urged the Greater Chennai Corporation authorities to clear the vegetation and trees growing over the compound wall in a time-bound manner.

“The compound wall is filled with debris on the inner side of the compound. With vegetation and trees growing over the compound wall, it is making the wall weak. The weight of the debris and the extreme pressure exerted on the wall by the roots of the trees could be one of the reasons why the age-old stretch of the brick wall had collapsed,” said Bala, a resident of the locality.

When contacted, the zonal officials said that the wall would be repaired and the safety of the public is always a priority for the civic body.