5T school wall collapses within 5 days of construction

Even as the Odisha government makes tall claims about the transformation of schools under its 5T initiative, the ground reality seems different with incidents of boundaries, walls, and slabs collapsing being reported from several districts.

In a glaring example, the wall of Sudarshan Vidya Bhawan School collapsed just a few days after being constructed under the Odisha government’s ambitious 5T scheme. Exposing the tall claims of beautification works of schools being done under the 5T transformation program, a portion of the school wall has collapsed within a few days of construction.

“Crores of rupees are going down the drain, thanks to the low-quality work by the contractors and engineers. However, neither the government nor the administration is taking any action against such errant contractors and engineers because everyone is hand is gloves with each other,” a local alleged.

“Had the government or administration taken stringent action against such fraud contractors and engineers for their sub-standard work, no one would have dared to do such low-quality work,” he added.

According to sources, the beautification of Sudarshan Vidya Bhawan School at Chirulei village under Gandia block of Dhenkanal district was done under the 5T initiative. However, just after 5 days, a portion of the school wall has collapsed, triggering outrage among the locals.

Instead of constructing a new wall, the contractor had laid the roof of the school over the old wall that eventually collapsed just after five days, it was learnt. 

“Luckily, no one was present when the wall collapsed. Imagine if some students were present during the mishap. Stringent action should be taken against those responsible for it so that no one ever dares to bungle government funds,” a local demanded.