Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 4: In a tragic incident, nine children lost their lives while several other children sustained injuries when the wall of a dilapidated house collapsed on them while making Shivalinga near a temple in Shahpur town in Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh on Sunday.
The incident occurred just a day after four school children were killed in a similar wall collapse of another dilapidated building when they were returning from school in Rewa district on Saturday.
The tragic incident in Sagar took place near the Hardaul Baba temple between 8.30 and 9 A.M. The injured children have been rescued and hospitalised.
The children, the local administration has said, were making Shivalinga as part of a religious ceremony at the temple when the wall of a house next to the temple collapsed over them. This house, the administration said, was about 50 years old and was run down by heavy rain.
A programme of “Parthiv Shivalinga Nirman” (making Shivalinga out of clay) was going on under a tent near the dilapidated house and a wall collapsed and fell on the tent, local BJP MLA and former minister Gopal Bhargava told reporters. The children got crushed under the tent and debris, the BJP MLA added.
Rescue work after the incident was carried out by police with the help of local residents. Visuals showed an earthmover at work to remove the rubble after the wall collapse. Top officials have now reached the spot. District officials have said the children were in the 10-15 years age group.
The Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said he was pained by the incident. “I hope those injured recover soon. My condolences with families who lost their children. The government will provide each family with an assistance of ₹ 4 lakh,” he said.
President Droupadi Murmu described the incident as “heart-rending”. “May God give the bereaved families the strength to endure this pain. I hope for the swift recovery of the injured children,” she said in a post on X. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the mishap.
On Saturday, Four children in the age group of 5-7 years were killed and a woman and a child sustained injuries after a wall of an abandoned building collapsed on them while they were returning home from school in Rewa district. The incident occurred near a private school under Garh police station limits, an official said. The children from Sunrise Public School were on their way home when the wall of an abandoned building nearby collapsed on them, Mahendra Singh Sikarwar, Inspector-General of Police, Rewa zone, told reporters.
The abandoned house was located hardly 20 metres from the school. After school was over, some students were heading towards their homes. As they were crossing the old and abandoned house, its back wall collapsed. The owners of the house the wall of which collapsed, have been arrested.
Incidents of wall collapse are being reported as Madhya Pradesh receives heavy rain. As many as 200 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state this year. About 206 houses have been completely damaged, and 2,403 have suffered partial damage.
