Narrow escape for students as plaster chunks fall off ceiling in Bhubaneswar school

Bhubaneswar: Children of Satyasai Sevashram Primary School in Khandagiri area of Bhubaneswar had a narrow escape today when chunks of plaster fell off from the ceiling inside a classroom.

Luckily, no one has sustained any injuries though the incident took place during class hours in presence of students and teachers in the classroom.

Soon after the mishap, students along with their guardians staged a demonstration in protest of the incident and demanded a permanent solution and immediate steps to resolve the ceiling issue.

“We were sitting inside the classroom when the plaster chunks started falling down. We all rushed outside immediately and the teacher called someone to inform about the matter,” said a student.

As per the allegations of the parents, this is not the first instance that a chunk has fallen off from the ceiling in a classroom. When a similar incident occurred on August 8, the school was closed while the classes resumed after a few days.

Questioning the safety of the children, a mother said, “We are poor and we cannot admit our students in private schools. That is why we are bringing them here so that they will not be deprived of education. But we are afraid now with frequent incidents like this."

Meanwhile, the Cluster Resource Centre Coordinator (CRCC) Ankita Mohapatra reached the spot to review the situation of the school and the classrooms, sources said.

Mohapatra said, “There’s an official procedure for everything. A letter was sent to DPC and other senior officers for carrying out the repair work and we have also received an approval letter on the same. The condition of the classroom was not bad. This happened due to incessant rain over the past few days.”

“For the next 10-15 days, till the repair work is carried out, we will provide a room in Mother Public School where classes will continue,” she added.