Damoh: Dilapidated School Building Puts Children's Lives at Risk, Administration Indifferent
A 50-year-old school building in Damoh is on the verge of collapse, posing a severe threat to students' safety, yet authorities remain inactive.
Dilapidated Building a Grave Danger
Panda village, near Hindoria in Damoh district, houses a primary school with a 50-year-old building that has become a significant threat to children's safety. The dilapidated condition of the building means a major accident could occur at any moment, but responsible officials appear to be oblivious to the danger.
According to Dashrath Adivasi, President of the Gram Mitra Mandal, and Sujat Khan, a community leader, the old, two-room school building is extremely dilapidated. Stones frequently fall from the roof, and the walls are crumbling in several places. Most concerningly, venomous creatures like snakes and scorpions are emerging from cracks in the walls.
Children Study Under Threat of Death
The small tribal and backward-class children attending the school are forced to pass under this decaying structure to access the toilets, kitchen, and handpump. There have been several near misses where children narrowly avoided injury from falling roof tiles or attacks by poisonous insects.
Despite these life-threatening conditions, the administration has failed to take any notice of the situation.
Complaints Ignored, Officials Remain Silent
Villagers, the school management committee, and the school head have submitted multiple written applications and oral complaints to the education department and the district project officer regarding this serious issue. They are demanding the immediate demolition of the dilapidated building.
However, the department is neither demolishing it itself nor granting permission for the school management to do so. Villagers allege that officials are waiting for a major accident to happen. The villagers and the school community have appealed to the administration to demolish the hazardous building in time and save the children's lives.
They have warned that if any untoward incident occurs, the entire responsibility will lie with the District Project Officer and the concerned department.