BMC Elections 2017: Dirty voting? Schools claim elections led to filth

A day after polling for civic elections concluded in polling booths in the city, several schools that had been converted into temporary polling centres have complained of mismanagement and lack of cleanliness on the part of the poll authorities.

On Wednesday, as these schools reopened in the morning, teachers were shocked to see the pathetic condition in which the school infrastructure had been left behind after the day of the elections. “All the benches had been moved and there was stuff stuck on each and every wall of the school. The premises outside the building had a lot of trash strewn around. Teachers and students had to personally shift benches back in place in their classrooms and had to clean the school themselves,” said Rajesh Pandya, a teacher at Fatima Devi English School in Malad and the vice-president of Teachers’ Democratic Front.

Pandya said that it is the responsibility of the corporation to ensure that no damage is done to school property and to see to it that cleanliness is maintained at all times. “The corporation should be more responsible. Students cannot study in such a filthy environment the next day,” he added.

While several other schools, too, complained of filthy premises, some also recorded low attendance of teachers as most of them returned home at midnight on Tuesday after completing their polling duties.