Despite safety drills in Rajasthan in the aftermath of the tragic Piplodi school ceiling collapse, another mishap in a Jaisalmer school left a student dead and a teacher seriously injured on Monday.
According to reports reaching the state headquarters here, the pillar of the main gate of the Government Senior Secondary School at Poonam Nagar (Haboor village) suddenly collapsed detaching the heavy iron gate this morning amid student movement for the classes.
One student, Arbaz (9), and a teacher were hit by the falling gate. As the boy was trapped under the fallen gate some teachers and villagers rushed to retrieve him but could not save him. The injured teacher was taken to a nearby hospital from where he was referred to the District Hospital, police sources said.
Soon after the mishap, relatives of Arbaz and some local villagers sat on dharna in front of the school gate. They held the school officials responsible for the death of the student, claiming that the gate was for long in a bad condition. The administrative officers were informed about the situation several times but to no avail.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, expressing anguish over the death of the student, said, “Apathetic attitude of government machinery, despite a serious tragedy in Piplodi-Jhalawar four days back, is worrisome.”
“The rainy season is on. I request Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma for immediate and effective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidence,” he added.
In Piplodi-Jhalawar, the ceiling of a local government school collapsed Friday morning killing seven children and injuring 27 others.