Gujarat: 4 school students injured as cement plaster from roof of lobby falls

MAHISAGAR: Four students of a government primary school in Gujarat's Mahisagar district were injured after cement plaster from the roof of the lobby fell on them on Monday, officials said. The incident took place in the morning when students had gathered in the lobby of the school in Pratappura for the farewell function of a retiring teacher, said district primary education officer (DPEO) PN Modi.

"Along with students, their parents, villagers, and members of the school management committee were also sitting in the lobby when a chunk of cement plaster fell from the roof, leaving four students injured," Modi said. Officials identified the injured students as Lakshmi and Janaki, both seven years old, Lakuben (13) and Jayraj (9), adding that they had been rushed to a government hospital in Santrampur for treatment, while one of the students, a 7-year-old, was referred to a private orthopaedic hospital as she had sustained more injuries.

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School principal Jaswant Solanki said there are 401 registered students in the school, and four out of eight classrooms need to be dismantled to make way for new ones. "There were 12 classrooms in the school, out of which four were dismantled in the past. We have made several written and verbal representations to the authorities for new classrooms, but have not received any response," he said.

"Out of eight classrooms, four are in bad shape. We request the government to provide us with a new structure so that students could get better education. Pratappura is a cluster school, and requires additional rooms for facilities like a laboratory, which are lacking," Solanki said.