Kashinagar: Scores of schoolchildren of Kiting Project Primary School under Kasinagar block in Gajapati district had a narrow escape Thursday after it was reported that some miscreants had poisoned the water of the tube well on the school premises.
A woman of the village alerted locals about the incident and police launched an investigation into the matter based on a complaint lodged by school authorities.
According to reports, Damodar Kamala, a woman who resides near the school, went to the tube well to take a bath. However, she found that the water had a strange odour. She later spoke to a fellow villager who shared her concerns and together they informed the school managing committee president Gopalkrushna Patnaik. Soon after, locals reached the school and prevented the tube well from being used.
On being alerted, headmaster Bijay Kumar Panda informed RWS&S junior engineer Pabitra Mohan Dalai and others after filing a case with police. RWS&S officials collected the water samples for a laboratory test.
It is suspected that pesticides used for cotton farming have been put into the tube well water.
It was learnt that 38 students came to school Thursday while 14 children were present at the nearby Anganwadi Centre. It would have been dangerous had they used the water of the tube well, villagers said. PNN