Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 24(PTI) Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Thursday said the demolition of old school buildings in the state that are earmarked for being knocked down, will be expedited.
His statement comes days after a portion of the roof of a government upper primary school at Karthikappally in Kerala’s Alappuzha district collapsed on Sunday, July 20, following heavy rains.
Though the school authorities had claimed that no classes were being conducted in the specific building, parents of students told reporters that classes were going on in the building where the portion of the roof collapsed
The minister, in his statement, said that new buildings were built at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore in several government schools using various funds and classes have also started in them, but the old buildings are yet to be demolished.
He said that such old buildings, which are more than 100 years old, exist in many schools and according to the law, the contractors who have won bids to demolish them, usually raze them down and take away the materials.
However, some local bodies have fixed a huge amount as a fee for this and as a result, demolition of old school buildings are not happening in many places, he claimed.
The minister said that the government has taken the matter seriously and directed that necessary steps, in accordance with law, should be taken immediately to ensure the old buildings are demolished to prevent any untoward incident due to collapse of such structures.
Therefore, those responsible in this regard should take immediate action, Sivankutty said and urged the local bodies and the people to be vigilant in the matter.