Providential escape for students as ceiling collapses minutes after school hours

Students of the government higher primary school at Kallukambh in the taluk had a close shave on Saturday as a large chunk of the ceiling of a classroom collapsed just half-an-hour after the students left the school.

Three more classrooms of the eight-decade old school have developed cracks.

“I was going on my bike when I heard a loud thud. I went to the spot and found out that the ceiling of the school has collapsed. A few locals placed thorny bushes around the school to prevent people from going close to the building,” G Nagaraj, an eyewitness and alumnus of the school said.

“Students had left for home when the tragedy struck. I can’t imagine what would have happened if the ceiling had caved in during the schools hours, says B Sunil Kumar, a local resident.

The school, which came up in 1943 after Bhanapur Hanumanth Reddy donated a parcel of land, has a student strength of 203. The building was in a dilapidated condition due to a lack of maintenance.

Also, the pupil-teacher ratio in the school is poor with just five teachers for grades 1 to 7.

“Days before the deputy commissioner’s overnight stay in the village in April third week, the ceiling of the school was repaired (patch-up job) at a cost of Rs 1.2 lakh. DC Pavan Kumar Malapati had ordered to transfer ownership of school land in the government’s name and had promised a new building for the school. Four months on, his promise remained just that even as the building crumbled,” B Siddaiah and Santhosh Reddy, the old students of the school, rued.

Six months back, H Basavaraj, the in-charge headmaster of the school had written to BEO about the sorry condition of school building and submitted an action plan for construction of eight new classrooms.

When contacted, Ballari DDPI Andanappa Vadageri said the department will bring down the old building and necessary approvals will be given for the construction of three classrooms.