Mangalore : The students of the Derlakatte Aided Lower Primary School and the public in Deralakatte staged a protest in front of the Belma Gram Panchayat office on Thursday July 3, against garbage dumping in-front of the school near the panchayat building.

The narrow 50m stretch between their school and the main road is often overrun by garbage.

During the rainy season, sewage water inundates the area, while even during the dry season, several hundred plastic packets are strewn around the path .

The protest was initiated by parents of the students and the locals who said the stench emanating from the piles had made it impossible for their wards to study in the school.

There is always the lingering danger of some communicable disease or skin afflictions during the monsoons.

GP officials said garbage was picked up in the area every Friday.

There is a long time between the pick-ups, but the trucks will come to pick it up more than once a week. It is a busy main road and a lot of motorists throw their bottles and plastic packets at the clearing close to the school, said a GP staff member.