Four kids die as school wall collapses in Una

UNA: Four children in 7-11 age group were killed on Monday noon when the boundary wall of a government elementary school in Chattarpur village near Santoshgarh town collapsed. The wall was reportedly raised just a couple of years back.
The deceased, including seven-year-old Raman, Aman, 8, Sanjeev and Sheetal, both 11, hailing from Chattarpur village were taken to the nearby BBMB hospital at Nangal Bhakra where they were declared brought dead.The lone survivor, Karan, 10, a resident of Santoshgarh town, is recuperating at the hospital with a broken leg.
The incident took place during the school's recess when children were playing outside the school premises near the 10-feet high cemented wall. Sources revealed that substandard construction material had been used in the raising of the very wall, which became evident from the fact that the wall could not withstand a mild thunderstorm that the area witnessed on Monday noon. It is learnt that the wall, which was erected around a couple of years ago, was constructed under the supervision of a joint committee comprising village panchayat, a PWD junior engineer and the school's headmaster.
School in charge, Sukhvir Singh, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
State education minister Ishwar Dass Dhiman, while agreeing that the use of substandard material in the wall construction could not be ruled out, told TOI on Monday that he had directed the Una DC to inquire into the matter and submit report to him within a fortnight. "A criminal case has been registered against those who were involved in construction of the wall," the minister said.