Delhi rains: Govt school wall collapses in Srinivaspur, triggers political slugfest

NEW DELHI: ''A wall of a school built four months before has collapsed due to rains. This has exposed the much-touted world-class education model of the Delhi Government. Had it not been a holiday, you could imagine the risk it could have posed to children'' BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.

A wall of a Delhi government school in Srinivaspuri collapsed during heavy rains, triggering a political slugfest on Sunday with the BJP alleging corruption in the building construction.

Education Minister Atishi, however, claimed that the wall was 35 years old and termed 150 mm of rainfall in the city an ''unusual climate event''.

The minister directed senior officials of the education department, principals and vice-principals to conduct a physical inspection of all government schools on Sunday.

In case of any deficiencies or serious problem is found, the school should be cordoned off to avoid any mishap, according to a statement from the education minister's office.

“It has been directed to all Regional Directors, Deputy Director of Education - Zones and District, Principals and Vice-Principals that they conduct a physical inspection of all the Government Schools under their jurisdiction on Sunday itself,” the statement said.

They have been asked to submit a report by Sunday itself.

The boundary wall of the school in south Delhi collapsed over some vehicles parked near the wall on Saturday evening. No one was injured in the incident.

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva along with MP Ramesh Bidhuri and local corporator Rajpal Singh went to Srinivaspuri ward where three motorcycles and two rickshaws were buried under the debris.

Sachdeva said that it is shocking that the wall of this school ''built just four months ago'' in the constituency of Education Minister Atishi collapsed in the very first rain and raises a question mark on the quality of material used in the construction of this school.

He claimed that it indicates corruption in the construction of the school and demanded that the school be closed till a structural audit is conducted.

Reacting to the incident, Aparajitha Gautam of the Delhi Parent Association said the city government ''should not just focus on the quality of education, but also on the quality of infrastructure''.

''While the Aam Aadmi Party talks about world-class education, the infrastructure aspect should also not be neglected. Along with quality education, the AAP government should focus on improving infrastructure too,'' she said.

Gautam said the students should be relocated before the mid-term examination.

No reaction was available from the school administration on the matter.