Karnataka - Belgaum   

Steps sought to avert fires in schools

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELGAUM, JULY 28. The Kannada Organisations Action Committee here has urged the State Government to ensure the safety of students in schools in view of the Kumbakonam fire tragedy.

Members of the committee, who discussed the problems faced by the schools in the city and elsewhere in the district, submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner here on Wednesday. The former Mayor Siddangouda Patil and Ashok Chandargi, chairman of the committee, led the delegation.

They said the Kumbakonam tragedy, which claimed the lives of 90 schoolchildren, had come as a warning to schools in which the midday meal scheme was being implemented. Many of them did not have adequate space to conduct classes, let alone cook meals.

Danger

Gas cylinders and stoves were kept in classrooms where both cooking and teaching were done. This posed a danger to the students and the staff. They said Chiranjeevi Singh, Development Commissioner for North Karnataka, had written to the authorities concerned to look into the problem of transportation of gas cylinders to schools in rural areas.

They suggested that kitchens be set up for groups of schools at convenient locations. For instance, the city could be divided into four school divisions with a kitchen each. Such a system would help save money and ensure the quality of food. It would also reduce the risk to the lives of the children and improve hygiene.

Inspection

They said the Minister for Agriculture Marketing, Prakash B. Hukkeri; Suresh Angadi, MP; and Ramesh Kudachi, MLA, visited schools recently to inspect their running. But their suggestions were not being implemented. Mr. Hukkeri found a school at Bhovi Galli congested and not congenial for learning. He ordered the authorities concerned to shift it to the premises of a Marathi-medium school at Ganpat Galli. Owing to the non-cooperating attitude of the teachers in the latter, the authorities were forced to shift the school to the premises of the faraway Market School. There were similar instances in which the Marathi-medium staff was not agreeing to lend space for the construction of classrooms to run Kannada-medium schools.

The committee submitted a list of schools needing urgent repairs.

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