SANGUEM
Five students were injured when a false ceiling in the assembly hall collapsed at Government Higher Secondary School in Sanguem on Friday morning.
This comes barely a day after one student was injured after a ceiling fan came crashing down in the classroom of the Government Primary School in Poriem-Sattari.
According to sources, the injured students along with others were reportedly in the hall making preparations for some programme when the portion of the false ceiling suddenly collapsed.
Sources said a monkey had jumped from a tree onto the roof and entered through a gap on the roof. The monkey then came crashing down along with the false ceiling.
HSS Principal Sudesh Naik and other teachers promptly administered first aid and got the injured students admitted to the Primary Health Centre at Sanguem.
While three of them were treated and discharged from the PHC, two students were shifted to the South Goa District Hospital at Margao, where one was kept under observation and the other was discharged after treatment.
Inquiries revealed that a portion of the aluminium false ceiling attached to the roof had partially collapsed earlier, and another portion gave way on Friday morning.
The inner portion of the school’s roof was reportedly exposed due to the lack of a proper iron mesh, allowing monkeys to enter and jump on the roof, which ultimately caused the false ceiling to collapse.
Soon after the incident, a number of locals, including Sanguem Municipal Chairperson Santiksha Gadkar, Vice-Chairperson Sangameshwar Naik, and Councillor Meshu D'Costa, rushed to the HSS to take stock of the situation.
SMC Vice-Chairperson Sangameshwar Naik voiced concern that although the PWD had prepared an estimate for repairs after a portion of the ceiling had first collapsed a year ago, the repair work had not yet begun.
Expressing alarm over the persistent danger to students, D'Costa appealed to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who is also the education minister, for his immediate intervention in the matter.
“I appeal to the chief minister to initiate the necessary repair work to avert any future tragedy, as the ceiling is badly damaged and exposed to danger,” said D’Costa.
The incident at the Government HSS at Sanguem has raised eyebrows among the educationists and parents concerning the quality of work undertaken by PWD contractors.
According to sources, school authorities had reported the damaged false ceiling to the education department in October last year, and the matter was then forwarded to the PWD.
After having drawn the estimates for the necessary repair works, the file was reportedly pending with the accounts department for approval over the last few months.
Speaking to reporters from the Purple Fest venue in Panaji, Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Desai said a monkey had caused the false ceiling to collapse at the HSS in Sanguem.
The minister said monkeys have been frequently jumping on the tiled roof, especially since there are a number of trees surrounding the HSS.
He told reporters that his office had earlier intimated authorities about the weak condition of the false ceiling and that an estimate for the repair work had also been prepared.
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane later visited the injured student at the South Goa District Hospital at Margao and enquired about her condition. He assured her of full medical support and care.
