Jhalawar (Rajasthan): A regular morning alive with the chatter of students assembling for prayers quickly turned into tragedy Friday when a portion of their government school building collapsed, killing seven children and injuring 27, some of them critically.
The youngest of those who died was only six years old. Minutes into the morning at the Piplodi Government School in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district, a part of the middle school building housing Classes 6 and 7 gave way, burying about 35 children, police said.
Slabs of concrete, bricks and stones were piled up high and scores of people, including frantic parents and teachers, helped in the rescue effort, searching through the mounds of debris to pull out the children.
Police officials said they were informed of the tragedy in Piplodi village around 7.45 am.
“Seven children have died so far,” Nand Kishore Verma, SHO of Manoharthana police station, about 80 km from the Jhalawar district headquarters, told PTI.
Those killed were identified as Payal (12), Harish (8), Priyanka (12), Kundan (12), Kartik as well as a brother and sister — Meena (12) and her brother Kanha (6).
The injured were taken to the Jhalawar hospital and the Manoharthana health centre. A doctor at the district hospital said nine of the injured were in the Intensive Care Unit.
Five staffers of the school were suspended and a high-level inquiry into the matter ordered.
For the villagers of Piplodi, that was scant consolation.
Tempers ran high as locals protested, accusing the administration of ignoring their warnings that the building was dilapidated and arriving too late at the scene of the tragedy.
Protesters blocked an arterial road and burnt tyres, demanding action against all guilty officials and compensation to the families who lost their children.
Angry locals said they had informed the tehsildar and sub-divisional magistrate about the condition of the school building but no action was taken.
“This happened due to negligence of the administration,” Balkishan, a local resident, told reporters.
He was sitting on the roadside close to the school when he heard a loud noise, turned around to see that a portion of the building had collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris. The sounds of children screaming broke through the noise.
“I, along with others present there, immediately rushed to building and started removing slabs and stones in order to rescue children. There was chaos. Children were crying and everyone was making efforts to pull them out. Many of us rushed the injured students to the health centre,” Balkishan said.
According to Jhalawar collector Ajay Singh, however, the district administration had recently instructed the education department to give information about any dilapidated school building but this one did not figure in the list.
“I will get it investigated and action will be taken against whoever is found guilty,” Singh told PTI.
Another local claimed they had rescued the children and rushed them to the health centre in private vehicles before help from the administration arrived.
Among those who condoled the death of the children were President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The news of the collapse of a school roof in Jhalawar, Rajasthan, resulting in the death and injury of several students, is extremely tragic. I pray that God grants strength to the grieving families to bear this pain.
“I wish for the speedy recovery of the students injured in this accident,” Murmu said in a post on X in Hindi.
The prime minister described the incident as tragic and deeply saddening.
“My thoughts are with the affected students and their families in this difficult hour. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are providing all possible assistance to those affected,” he said.
As anxious families gathered outside the district hospital, a man could be heard crying. His son was among the injured. He also alleged that people had taken the children to hospital for treatment before government help reached.
According to one student, tree branches had grown into the walls of the school and there was persistent water seepage.
Recounting the events of the morning, Dulichand Lodha, a villager, said one classroom collapsed and the adjacent one got damaged.
“The school building appears to be 30-40 years old. After one portion collapsed, the district administration has razed the other parts so that there is no further incident,” he said.
Village sarpanch Ramprasad Lodha added that he hurried to the site with a JCB machine and immediately began rescue operations. At least 13 students were rescued from the building, seven of whom were in critical condition and later died.
He, too, claimed that the ambulance arrived only 45 minutes later and the injured were taken to the hospital on two-wheelers.
A young girl recounted with a shudder her narrow escape.
“We were sitting near the gate of a classroom. Some pieces of gravel started falling from above. Moments later, the classroom adjoining our classroom collapsed. Since we were sitting near the gate, we immediately rushed out,” she told reporters.
“We got scared and started crying,” another student said.
The Rajasthan Human Rights Commission took suo motu cognisance and issued notices to the local administration,and police. It sought factual reports and appropriate legal action against the guilty persons and compensation to the families of the victims.
In a video statement, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma said instructions have been issued to officers to ensure that no school building should be in dilapidated condition in order to prevent such incidents in future.
In his condolence message earlier in the day, he said that concerned officials had been directed to ensure proper treatment of the injured children.
“May God grant a place to the departed divine souls in his lotus feet and give strength to the bereaved family to bear this immense sorrow,” he said.
The condolences poured in.
Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota MP Om Birla said the incident was painful, and prayed for the peace of the departed souls.
Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also expressed his condolences and asked Congress workers to provide all possible assistance in relief and rescue operations.
Education Minister Madan Dilawar was in Bharatpur when the incident occurred. He cancelled the visit and left for Jhalawar.
Governor Haribhau Bagade, assembly speaker Vasudev Devnani, leader of opposition Tikaram Jully former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot and Vasundhara Raje, BJP state president Madan Rathore, PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra, former BJP state present Satish Poonia and other leaders also expressed their grief and hoped for the speedy recovery of the injured students.
PTI
