Shergada: At least 25 women sustained grievous injuries after a marble floor on which they were sitting caved in by more than three feet during a meeting at the Pitala panchayat office under Shergada block in Ganjam district Monday.
More than 20 women meanwhile had a narrow escape, sources said. The incident led to shockwaves in the area.
The incident occurred while 50 women of the panchayat were attending a meeting at the panchayat office. Injured women were rushed to the Pitala community health centre (CHC) in auto-rickshaws and ambulances.
Hundreds of locals flocked to the spot upon hearing rumours of a ‘mini-earthquake’ having struck the panchayat office.
The injured were again shifted to Hinjili government hospital after the Pitala CHC was flooded with the injured and their relatives.
Five of the injured including Jhunu Tarei, Jayanti Mohanty, Sashi Nayak, Indumati Sabat and Janaki Nayak were shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur for further treatment as their condition worsened. The remaining 20 were under treatment at Hinjili government hospital till the time of filing this report.
Block chairman Babula Kumar Chaudhary, BDO Ranjan Kumar Biswal, Hinjili IIC Prasant Kumar Sahu, sarpanch Krushnachandra Mallick and other officials reached Hinjili hospital and took stock of the situation.
A team from the district collectorate reached MKCG Hospital and inquired about the condition of the five injured women.
According to sources, the rural water supply and sanitation department had held an awareness meeting at Pitala panchayat office. Over 50 women including Anganwadi members, ASHAs and self-help group members took out an awareness rally throughout the panchayat.
Later, they gathered at the panchayat office for a meeting. Suddenly, the floor of the panchayat office caved in with a bang during the meeting, leaving 25 women injured.
Meanwhile, several safes and cabinets kept at the office fell on the women, pinning them to the ground. The impact of the incident was such that the marble floor was broken into several pieces.
Thankfully, however, the walls of the office stood in place and did not collapse on the women, who would otherwise have been killed, locals said. Pitala village suffered extensive damage during Cyclone Phailin in 2013.
“A lot of soil was washed away from the village during the cyclone and subsequent rains. Perhaps a lot of soil from underneath the office building was also washed away, and due to the excess weight of 50 women, the the floor might have collapsed,” local sarpanch Krushnachandra Mallick said. PNN
