RUDRAPUR: Three years after the launch of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and a few months after Udham Singh Nagar was declared open defecation free (ODF), students at a government primary school in the hometown of state education minister Arvind Pandey still defecate in the open as the only toilet in the premises has no sewerage or water and has a broken structure.The sorry state of affairs at Basantipur primary school in Dineshpur, 15 kms from the district headquarters, emerged after the urban development ministry suggested that the civic body levy spot fines or penalties for those defecating in the open.Taking cognizance of the matter, Pandey has sought a detailed report of schools in Dineshpur block with damaged toilets. He assured quick action in the matter. Block education officer (BEO), Ravi Mehta, told TOI that a proposal for building and renovating toilets in all schools in the block had been sent to the directorate. “Toilets will be built as soon as the budget is passed,” he said.Taking to TOI, Dev Prasad, the gram pradhan of Basantipur said, “The school was built around 50 years ago and the single toilet in its premises has been in a dilapidated condition for the last 20 years. With no open fields nearby, students are even forced to risk their lives by defecating along roadsides amidst heavy traffic.”“The lack of a toilet is forcing us to relieve ourselves in the open, often in the fields or the roads. The fact that the school is located near a highway is an additional danger for us. They are not repairing the only toilet in the school, what to do?” said a student.

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