Demolition of eight dilapidated classrooms of Government Boys Higher Secondary School in Thiruvalam near Katpadi in Vellore by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as part of its widening work has put hundreds of students at risk, as the school campus has become slushy and uneven for over a month now.
Tucked between Katpadi railway station and Thiruvalluvar University, the government school, which was built in 1966, has around 300 students between Class VI and XII. Most of the students are from the surrounding farming villages. “With the Northeast monsoon having begun, the school campus has turned worse, especially after demolition, due to unevenness and huge slush in the razed campus area. We are worried about the safety of students,” said S. Roja, headmistress.
Spread over three acres, the school has 12 working classrooms. Eight old classrooms were declared as unfit by PWD a few years ago.
A month ago, NHAI demolished a portion of the school compound wall and eight unused classrooms in the campus for widening of Bengaluru – Chennai Highway. School authorities said that the existing water pipelines to Over Head Tank (OHT) and washrooms in the school were damaged during demolition work.
The school also remained without power supply for many days after electrical lines were snapped during demolition work. “After our request, local Tangedco officials repaired electrical lines and restored power supply to the school. We repaired damaged water pipelines to restore water supply in the campus,” the headmistress said.
Four lane route
As per estimates, the expressway will be converted into a four lane route, at least 90 metres wide. Elevated bridges, underpasses and toll plazas among its other features, NHAI officials said.
Of the total 258 km, 92 km of the project comes in three districts — Vellore (11.67 km), Ranipet (42.33 km) and Kancheepuram (38 km). A total of 426.19 hectares — 113 in Vellore and 313.19 in Ranipet— has been acquired for the purpose. Acquired land includs houses, school buildings, farm wells, coconut groves along the stretch.
Officials of the School Education Department said Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi and S. Premalatha, Chief Educational Officer (CEO), Vellore, were informed about the condition of the school campus.
Officials also said that NHAI has agreed to pay a compensation of ₹4 crore for demolished structures in the school campus for road work. “Despite paper work done, NHAI has not deposited the compensation amount into the School Education Department bank account. Only then, PWD can be roped in to do the repair works in the campus,” said an official of the department.
Published – November 07, 2025 12:38 am IST
