Video of corporation school students cleaning Delhi drains goes viral; show-cause notices issued

The notice read that the school authorities, including the staff and zonal authorities, were given explicit orders not to allow children to be involved in such activities.

A South Delhi Municipal Corporation primary school landed in hot water after a video went viral of the students in uniform clearing trash and shovelling garbage from the roads. The 15-second video showed four students pulling waste from a drain and putting it in a plastic bag.

The school is said to be situated in Kishangarh near Vasant Kunj. After the video came out, show-cause notices for violating orders were sent to the school's principal, the inspector of the south zone and the deputy director of education.

According to The Times of India, the notice read that the school authorities, including the staff and zonal authorities, were given explicit orders not to allow children to be involved in such activities.

While inspecting the video, the head of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) education committee said that it looks as though the children are shovelling soil and not garbage. She added that she will take suitable action against the school after they verify if the video is correct.

"The education department cannot wash its hands of the matter by saying show-cause notices have been issued. If BJP can turn the accidental falling of a fan in a classroom into a controversy, this incident actually shows officials intentionally making little kids dredge up garbage from drains," Kishanwati, the leader of the Opposition in the SDMC, was quoted as saying by TOI.

She added that councillors belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party would protest if no action was taken against those responsible.