In a narrow escape from tragedy, a nursery school building under the jurisdiction of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) collapsed on Monday, just before classes were set to begin. The English medium nursery school, located on Cooks Road near Shivajinagar in Bengaluru, was home to 90 enrolled children, with an average daily attendance of 70-80 nursery students. The collapse occurred during school hours, raising concerns about the potential for a significant tragedy.
Authorities swiftly responded to the incident, deploying JCB machines to clear the debris. Local residents have criticized the BBMP for allowing the nursery school to operate in a dilapidated building, posing an imminent danger to the children.
MLA Arshad pledges new school buildings
Congress MLA from Shivajinagar, Rizwan Arshad, addressed the incident, acknowledging that the authorities had identified old buildings in the constituency. "Including the one that collapsed, three school buildings will be constructed. A tender has already been floated, and a new building will be built soon," stated Arshad.
Arshad further revealed, "I had inspected the school building two years ago. We have already issued a tender to construct a new school building. Six government school buildings in Shivajinagar are too old, and the process is underway to construct new schools. The school building is more than 50 years old."
Notably, students had attended classes in the now-collapsed building just the week before. BBMP officials conducted an inspection of the school and are actively engaged in the process of removing the debris from the site.
Inputs from IANS