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| Hostel warden brings Rajesh Murmu to MGM hospital in Jamshedpur on Wednesday and (above) the hostel corridor (circled in red) from where the third grader fell. Pictures by Bhola Prasad |
A nine-year-old tribal student of a centrally funded residential school in Sonari, Jamshedpur, was seriously injured on Wednesday morning when he fell headlong from his hostel that did not have grilles, even though the building houses 550 boys.
Rajesh Murmu, a third grader of Bharat Sevashram Sangha Pranavananda Centenary High School, has been admitted to MGM hospital, Sakchi. Bharat Sevashram Sangha hostel warden Bharat Charan Murmu, who rushed the boy to hospital, said the boy fell from a height of 15 feet at 11.30am while he was flying a kite in the hostel corridor.
Barely 3 feet walls barricade the corridor, shorter than the height of the youngest resident of the hostel. There are no railings.
Rajesh, who was supposed to go for lunch, landed up in hospital on a Bharat Sevashram ambulance with multiple fractures in his left hand and injuries on his face. Though external bleeding has stopped, the CT scan report for any internal head injury is being awaited.
“The accident is an eye-opener for us. We will ask the management to construct the railing immediately,” said the warden.
The son of Chepa Ram Murmu, a resident of Hathiyadih village in Adityapur in neighbouring Seraikela-Kharsawan district, Rajesh had been studying in the school since the past three years.
The Bharat Sevashram hostel accommodates around 550 students, comprising Scheduled Tribe and Primitive Tribe Groups (PTG) from remote villages of twin Singhbhums and Seraikela-Kharsawan.
It receives Rs 40 lakh annually from the Union ministry of tribal affairs.
Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) runs two schools on their Sonari campus — BSS Pranavananda Centenary High School upto Class VIII and BSS Pranavananda Vidya Mandir with Classes IX and X. The latter sends students for secondary school examinations through Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC).
BSS Sonari secretary Swami Sanantanand Maharaj said this was the first accident in their institution running since 1992. The hostel was constructed in 2006.
“We have a railing in the school’s balcony but not in the hostel. Both the school and the hostel have three storeys. After this mishap, we are definitely thinking of installing railings at the hostel too,” the secretary said.
Rajesh’s relative Ravilal Kisku accused the school management of flouting basic security norms in a hostel for minors.
“All hostels with children should have railing on balconies and corridors. These are basics. Not having a railing shows neglect on the part of the school management,” Kisku alleged.
How safe are other residential schools for needy students?
Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com
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