Tiruchy school building on river bank caves in

Around 8.30 pm on Monday, people residing near the school heard some unusual noise. It was raining heavily in Tiruchy city and the St Antony’s Middle School in Varaganeri near Palakkarai collapsed.

The residents were shocked to see the building damaged up to 20 metre in length on the west side close to the Uyyakondan river. They alerted the authorities and the power supply to the building was suspended. “The building already had some cracks and we informed the school administration. We cannot imagine the extent of the tragedy if the building had collapsed during the day time when the school was working,” said K Venkatesh, a resident and parent of one of the students of the school.

Many daily wage workers were sending their students to the school near Palakkarai in the city. The district Collector KS Palanisamy on Tuesday visited the spot and ordered the officials to lock the building and instructed the school administration to demolish the entire building as the structure posed a threat. Parents who assembled there requested the Collector to access the stability of other buildings too on the school premises. 

The Collector studied the other structures on the premises and after ensuring the stability, asked the school administration to shift the classes from the damaged building to an adjacent building. The classes continued in a temporary space in the school on Tuesday. Tourism Minister Vellamandi N Natarajan visited the school and instructed the civic officials to assist the school administration in demolishing the damaged building.