To pacify frightened kids, Bahanaga High School, which was utilised to store the bodies of those who lost their lives in the tragic tragedy, has been destroyed.
Due to its proximity to the accident scene and the inability of the municipality to handle such a high death toll, up to 205 bodies were stored in Bahanaga High School after the incident. Because they think it’s haunted by ghosts, parents had refused to let their kids attend the institute until it was destroyed and rebuilt.
When the school management committee (SMC) voiced concerns about the building’s age and safety, the decision to tear it down was reached. In a school where remains had been held, students were also hesitant to show up for class. Additionally, guardians urged the building to be taken down since the students had been deeply affected by seeing bodies transported to the school for identification.
Skepticism Among Students and Parents
Collector Shinde had on Thursday urged the public to consider whether pupils should be exposed to superstition about ghosts instead of being encouraged to acquire a scientific temper after the school committee acknowledged the parents’ petition.
The state government finally gave in to public pressure a day later, with teachers joining the parents in their cause. The Government Nodal High School in Bahanaga, where the bodies of the June 2 train disaster victims had been held for a day, had seven classrooms removed by the Odisha government.
Counselling sessions would be set up for the pupils and instructors, according to S. Aswathy, Secretary of the School and Mass Education Department, to allay their anxieties.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik met with key government officials, including the Chief Secretary, in response to the SMC’s decision and petitions from guardians and locals. He gave his approval for the institute’s rebuilding and designation as a model school during this meeting. The renovated school will have contemporary amenities like a science lab, library, and digital classrooms.
Work began after attaining approval in a virtual meeting. The construction of a new building will likely be finished in three months. The SMC members and the Public Works Department were present when the demolition process began.
Removal of Classrooms at Bahanaga
Only the part of the institute where the accident victims’ bodies were stored, however, has been demolished. The parents’ desire for the building’s 16 rooms to be completely demolished hasn’t been entirely complied with by the authorities. The seven rooms where the bodies were stored will only be demolished and rebuilt for the time being.
The remodelling proposal that Shinde must present in 15 days will determine whether the remaining nine rooms will be refurbished only or will also be torn down and rebuilt.
As the surviving families of the deceased attempted to identify the dead, the bodies were kept there for two days.
The students and their parents remained sceptical despite a member of the school managing committee’s claims that the rooms where the remains were kept were sanitised. As soon as the new structure is completed, a priest will sanctify it so that the children won’t be alarmed when the institute opens.
