In the Piplodi village of the Manoharthana block in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district, a tragic incident where the roof of the government school building collapsed has caused the deaths of several children and injured many more.
As per the latest updates, 8 children have been declared dead. 28 children have been injured and many of them are critical.
35 children of class 7 were present in the classroom when the roof collapsed, trapping almost the entire class underneath the debris.
Due to heavy rains, children were asked to stay in the classroom and not come out for the morning assembly. Locals rushed to help with the rescue efforts and carried the children to a nearby hospital. However, many children succumbed to injuries soon after.
Ajay Singh Rathod, the district collector of Jhalawar, has informed that the Department of Education has standing instructions to demolish any school buildings that are dilapidated or at risk of collapse. However, the village school in Piplodi was not in the list.
Local administration immediately used bulldozers to demolish the entire school building. 5 teachers who were not present during the incident have been suspended.
As per reports, an amount of Rs 4.28 crores was sanctioned for the repair and reconstruction works of the school, but the money never came. It was stuck in the official documentation in the Ministry of Finance in Rajasthan. Education Director Sitaram Jat has stated that despite orders to repair dilapidated schools before the monsoon, the work was not completed.
