Kaduthuruthy: With the new academic year around the corner, a headmaster in Kottayam went the extra mile to ready his school by climbing atop the building to clean the overhead water tanks himself.

It was Alex Lukose (55), headmaster of St Joseph LP School at Iravimangalam, who descended into the tanks installed above the second floor of the school building to carry out the cleaning work himself. Hanging from a rope tied to the rooftop, Alex climbed into the tanks and lowered himself into them to clean them thoroughly.

For the past three weeks, he has been actively involved in cleaning the school and its premises ahead of reopening. Around 100 students attend the school, which is also his alma mater.

Serving as the headmaster of the school for the past two years, Alex has consistently led efforts to maintain the campus, from cleaning classrooms to washing benches and desks.

The school has two overhead tanks, each with a storage capacity of 4,000 litres, installed on an elevated iron stand above the second floor of the building. Alex is due to retire from service next year. His wife, Usha Mary, is a high school teacher.