Rajasthan University block collapses

A portion of a three-storey chemistry department building of the Rajasthan University on Thursday collapsed in the campus here, damaging lab equipment worth crores of rupees.

But there was no report of any injury or loss of life in the incident as there was no one inside the building when it collapsed, police said.

Equipment and machines worth crores of rupees kept in the lab are likely to have been damaged completely in the collapse.

“The portion of the chemistry department building which collapsed had a chemistry laboratory and classrooms, but no one was injured in the incident,” SHO Gandhi Nagar police station Rajesh Malik said.

Matter ignored

Student leaders alleged that university officials did not take the matter seriously and did not initiate work to clear the debris till late.

They held the university administration responsible for the collapse and demanded a probe into the matter.

Protesting against the incident, National Students Union of India activists led by the state president Sumit Bhagasara held demonstration in the campus and forcibly entered into the vice chancellor residence, located near the building.

“They also tried to block JLN road outside the university. However, the situation was brought under control and four persons, including Bhagasara, were arrested,” Malik said.

Meanwhile, the university administration appointed a three-member committee to ascertain the cause behind the collapse. The committee headed by a retired chief engineer of public works department Swatantra Gupta will submit its report to VC B L Sharma within a week.