Monday, 13 January 2025
Monday, 13 January 2025
A glass panel fell at Nava Nalanda school in south Kolkata on Monday, injuring students and sparking protests from parents alleging negligence.
According to TV channels that reached the spot first, three students were hurt, with two from Class IX requiring hospitalisation. The school said two students were injured, one discharged after first aid, while the other remains under medical care.
The school administration said in its media statement that the building was newly constructed and rejected allegations of poor maintenance. They also claimed the glass broke due to students forcefully trying to open a window.
The school said the principal had visited the hospital to check on the injured students.
“Every day, a prayer meeting is held for alternating classes, such as Class 8 and 9 or Class 7 and 8, near the school’s exit gate,” school principal Arijit Mitra told the media.
“Classes begin at 7:15am. Today, during the prayer session for Class 8 and 9, glass from a fourth-floor window in room number 503 broke and fell onto the prayer assembly area where 150-200 students were present.”
The broken glass pieces seriously injured Priyam Das, a male student, and another student standing nearby.
The school has two ambulances, one for the primary section and another for the secondary section, but the ambulance driver was unavailable at the time of the incident which caused the delay.
Priyam had to be taken to AMRI Hospital in a taxi. Priyam’s mother, head nurse at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, demanded his immediate discharge from AMRI to continue treatment at RG Kar.
Protesting parents expressed anger, alleging that despite paying high fees the school failed to provide timely medical assistance. They alleged that the ambulance driver often arrives after 8am even though classes start at 7:15am.
“The amount of money the school authorities take, they do not give that facility. The school is also not maintained, and as parents, we are extremely irritated,” said Indrajit Chandra, a parent.
The school authorities assured parents that measures would be taken to prevent similar incidents in the future.
“The safety and security of students will be our responsibility from tomorrow onwards. We will add additional safeguards such as nets to prevent such incidents,” the principal said.
Parents said that they will monitor the school’s implementation of these steps and escalate matters if their concerns are not addressed adequately.
“The incident which took place is very unfortunate; the [school] authority is taking steps,” Gouri Das, a teacher at the school, told The Telegraph Online.
