Keralam child rights commission files case over plight of students in leaky P&T Apartment Complex in Mundamveli

The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR) has registered a case over the reported hardships faced by children from 78 families residing in the leaky P&T Apartment Complex in Mundamveli, West Kochi.

The case was registered on a complaint lodged by P&T Apartment Complex Protest Committee president Abhilash P. Parameswaran. The commission has issued notices seeking reports from the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), Kochi Corporation, Local Self-Government Department, Life Mission, and the District Collector. The case is likely to be considered on November 30.

Last month, the Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) ordered a probe following reports that the leakage of rainwater and toilet water into apartments had adversely affected the school attendance of children living there. Commission chairperson Alexander Thomas sought a report from the GCDA.

“The education and lives of nearly 65 students in the apartment complex continue to be affected. The SHRC intervened following the prolonged absence of at least five students from various classes after their school uniforms and study materials were repeatedly soaked in leaking dirty water, affecting their dignity. More students continue to skip classes intermittently for the same reason. We petitioned the KeSCPCR demanding the prosecution of those responsible for subjecting children to such indignity, and seeking compensation for the emotional and psychological trauma they have suffered, as well as for the disruption to their education,” said Mr. Abhilash.

The plight of the students came to light after K.P. Priya, headmistress of SDPY Boys’ High School, Palluruthy, visited the apartment complex following the prolonged absence of a Class 8 student. She was shocked to find the unhygienic conditions in which he was living, following which she took up the matter with the residents’ association office-bearers and the councillor of the division concerned.

Indefinite protest

Seventy-eight families were shifted to the twin towers from an erstwhile colony along the banks of the Thevara-Perandoor Canal in the heart of the city in January 2024. However, the apartments began leaking during the first showers in February that year. Residents have since been staging an indefinite protest demanding rehabilitation in new structures.

The State government subsequently ordered a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau probe into the alleged corruption behind the construction of the apartment complex. A team led by DySP P. Rajkumar conducted a preliminary inspection on October 5.