Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje on Saturday met the families of seven students who were killed when the roof of a government school collapsed in Piplodi village of Jhalawar. Raje, who arrived with her son and Jhalawar MP Dushyant Singh, expressed condolences to the bereaved families and handed over an offer letter of contractual employment to one family.
Seven children had died in this tragic accident and about 27 children were injured. Raje also met the injured children admitted in the Community Health Center (CHC) of Manoharthana and inquired about their health from the doctors.
Talking to the media, she said that this accident could have been avoided if the dilapidated building was declared unsafe first and the children were shifted to a safe place. She demanded the Education Department to survey all school buildings and immediately send the children studying in dilapidated buildings to safe schools.
Vasundhara Raje expressed concern over the increasing danger from dilapidated buildings during monsoon. She said that it is necessary to immediately demolish the dilapidated school buildings and construct new and modern buildings during the rainy season, so that the lives of children are not put at risk.
Referring to the announcements made by Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, she said that work will be done on issues like education and ration. Also, a review meeting will be held soon to improve the condition of the village.
The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the family of each child killed in the accident and a contract job to one family member. Apart from this, the school building will be rebuilt and new classrooms will be named in the memory of the deceased children.
Vasundhara Raje handed over the offer letter of contract job to the family that lost two children in this accident. She said that offer letters will be handed over to other families soon. However, the victim families are not satisfied with the compensation amount.
They say that Rs 10 lakh is very less compared to the value of children's lives. Also, they are angry due to lack of clarity regarding the salary and duration of the contract job. The families have demanded strict action against the school management and officials responsible for the accident, so that such incidents do not happen in the future.