Roof of UP school in Alappuzha collapses, protests erupt over safety lapses

Muthukulam: A portion of the roof of the Karthikapally UP school building collapsed on Sunday. The parents and local residents let out a sigh of relief because a major tragedy was averted. The roof collapsed on a holiday. Various organisations have been staging protests alleging official incompetence and apathy. There are six buildings in the school compound. The building that collapsed is reportedly around 150 years old. The panchayat authorities stated that they haven’t issued a fitness certificate to this building.

Meanwhile, the school authorities claimed that classes were moved to a temporary shed as the building didn’t have a fitness certificate. However, a few parents and local residents refuted this claim. Students of standard four said that classes were held in this building until last Thursday. Some parents also pointed out that classes were conducted in the old building until last week. The details of the midday meal served to the students on July 15 could be seen marked on the wall of the building whose roof had collapsed. Besides, the books and other study materials used by the students are stored in the almirah in a nearby classroom. People in the locality point these out to refute the claims of the school authorities that classes were shifted to a temporary shed. Besides, those who rushed to the spot after the incident reported that desks and benches were swiftly moved out of the collapsed building.

The district collector has asked the concerned officials to submit a report. A team of officials led by the DDE will visit the school today.

Protests in the area
BJP and the Congress staged separate protests in front of the school after the incident. Meanwhile, Congress workers raised a photograph of the education minister as a mark of protest. Provoked by this act, the CPIM workers began raising slogans in support of the government. This soon led to heated exchanges between both parties. The police then intervened to calm down the protestors.

Congress held a march to Karthikapally junction and a meeting to protest against the state government for not providing enough funds to the school for maintenance as well as the school authorities who conducted classes in the building that didn’t have the panchayat’s fitness certificate. DCC vice president John Thomas inaugurated the meeting while the general secretary, V Shukkoor presided over it. Meanwhile, BJP stated that a protest march would be staged to Chingeli panchayat office. Leaders of the Youth Congress too had announced protest marches to the school.

Playing with kids’ lives: KC Venugopal
Demanding a foolproof enquiry into the incident where a portion of the roof of the Karthikapally government UP school had collapsed, KC Venugopal MP said that the government has been playing with kids’ lives. He stated that the building that collapsed didn’t have a fitness certificate. He also urged the Chief Minister to announce a detailed enquiry. The MP demanded to conduct safety auditing at all schools and to cancel the fitness of the buildings that pose a threat to the safety of the students.

New school building needed: Ramesh Chennithala
Ramesh Chennithala MLA urged the district collector to make temporary arrangements to conduct classes in the new building where electric works haven’t been completed. Collector assured that temporary electricity connection would be enabled in the new building to conduct classes here from Monday onwards. Besides, the front side of the building that still poses danger would be cordoned off using barricades to ensure the safety of the students.