Safe drinking water fetches top marks for this govt school
Provision of pure water has resulted in a marked decrease in the number of absentees BY D MADHAVAN For 3,000 students of the Government Higher Secondary School in Anakaputhur, pure drinking water is only a few steps away thanks to a water treatment plant on the premises. Allegedly the first of its kind in Kancheepuram district, the plant has been in use since December. There has been a marked decline in the number of absentees since the facility has helped provide safe water for students, thereby protecting them from sickness. We even allow students to take the purified water home, school authorities said. The facility, which costs Rs 1.5 lakh, can hold 1,000 litres of water. However, for every two litres of water taken for purification, one litre is left as wastage. Nevertheless, school authorities maintain this is used for saplings on the premises. The local body supplies the entire quantity of water for the school and electricity charges are met by the revenue allotted for the school by the State Education deparment, they added. The school, inaugurated in 1964, has 35 classrooms, including a newly tiled computer room. It is the only school available at the higher secondary level for thousands of students in Anakaputhtur municipality. Similar treatment plants are available