Parapet collapses at girls' school

The parapet of a classroom at the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls here collapsed after school hours last night with officials saying that it was just a case of another tragedy averted as the dilapidated building could "collapse any moment".
They said nobody was injured in the incident as the classroom was empty at the time of the collapse.
Bricks came tumbling down near the main passage of the school, close to the dining hall and the drinking water taps, police said, adding that as many as 957 girls are enrolled at the institution.
School authorities said that the 70-year-old school building was in urgent need of repairs.

Another such collapse had occurred at the school in February. On that occasion, too, a tragedy had been averted as the collapse took place on a Sunday, the authorities added.
As many as 18 out of 25 classrooms at the facility have been declared unsafe by PWD, they said.

When Punjab Bahujan Samaj Party president Parkash Singh Jandali and its general secretary Jarnail Nangal today raised this issue with ADC SK Singla, the latter assured them that he would personally look into the matter.
Principal Nirmal Singh, when contacted, said that he has written many letters to the authorities concerned regarding the dilapidated structure.

"Students and staff members live in constant fear as the building is so ramshackle that it could crumble any time. It should be pulled down at the earliest," he said.