Gadag: Over 200 students at Karnataka govt school cross highway for lack of toilets
Gadag: Lingappa Shankarappa Mailar Government High School, located in Hombal near Gadag, has over 200 students who face a daily struggle due to the lack of functional toilets on the school premises.
The co-ed school has a pink toilet, but it lacks running water, forcing students to cross the busy Nargund Road, a state highway, to reach an open field for defecation, as reported by The New Indian Express on Sunday.
When the school was established in 1990, it had two small toilets. However, over the years, the toilets fell into disrepair, with the roof sheets blown away during heavy rains and winds.
Parents are increasingly concerned about the safety of their children, especially the girls, who sometimes resort to going home or finding alternative places to attend nature’s call.
While the teaching standards and extra-curricular activities at the school are reportedly satisfactory, the lack of basic sanitation facilities remains a significant issue. Parents have been advocating for a solution, urging the local authorities to act.
The school committee, responding to parental pressure, has requested the local administration to build functioning toilets to ensure the students' well-being.
“As per the instructions of the education department, the principal has submitted a memorandum to the gram panchayat but no action has been taken,” TNIE quoted Rupeshkumar, a senior teacher, as saying.
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Budget allocation to AYUSH Ministry sees 20% rise
New Delhi (PTI): Budget allocation for the AYUSH ministry saw 20 per cent increase, from Rs 3,671.82 crore (revised estimates) in FY 2025-26 to Rs 4,408.93 crore in FY 2026-27.
The government has also announced the setting up of three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda to strengthen research in the field.
Presenting the Union Budget 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Ancient Indian Yoga, already respected in several parts of the world, was given a mass global recognition when the Prime Minister took it to the United Nations."
Stating that post-Covid Ayurveda has gained similar global acceptance and recognition, Sitharaman said exporting quality Ayurvedic products could help farmers who grow the herbs and the youth who process them.
To meet the global demand, she proposed setting up of three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda, upgrading AYUSH pharmacies and drug-testing labs for higher standards of certification ecosystem, making available more skilled personnel, and upgrading the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre in Jamnagar to bolster evidence-based research, training and awareness on traditional medicine.
Among the Centrally sponsored schemes, the allocation for the National AYUSH Mission has been increased from Rs 780.96 crore in FY 2025-26 to Rs 1,300 crore in FY 2026-27, registering 66.5 per cent hike.
The allocation for the All India Institute of Ayurveda has been reduced by 12 per cent.
Funding for the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda has also declined from 279.24 crore to 219.05 crore.
