NIT-C: Wall collapse leads to student's death

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 Unknown 1 Comments

A wall on the campus of one of India’s premier educational institutes collapses on a 19 year old physically challenged student and leads to his immediate death.

Disturbing, isn't it? I find it even more so since the college in question happens to be an NIT (National Institute of Technology), which is where I study too.

Now, a tragic incident like this poses a lot of questions.

But before we go into all that, you might want to know what exactly this shocking incident is all about.

NIT-C students protesting outside their Director's office Image Courtesy: The Hindu

Mannam Venkateshwaralu, a native of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) and a student of the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT-C) died of injuries and the trauma caused to him after a wall near a squash court in his campus collapsed on him on Saturday (February 15) afternoon.

Students at NIT-C are understandably furious. After their complaints, protests and acts of vandalism (Apparently, one of their walls now reads “Take all the money, you bastards. At least spare us our lives”), the Students Affairs Council of the college has issued an open letter accusing the college administration of criminal negligence. The authorities, under the advice of the Police, have now shut down the institute for an indefinite period of time and directed its students to vacate their hostel rooms.

You might want to read the open letter drafted by the Students Affairs Council here.

As I said, a tragic incident like this does indeed raise a lot of questions. However, for my own cautious reasons I won’t go to the extent of being vocal about them (I study in an NIT too, after all). However I can’t help but blurt out the most obvious question on my mind: How in the world does a wall just happen to fall by itself? Absurd, isn't it? Well, we all hear about how rampant corruption is in our country and apparently more so in government organizations. I wonder….

According to the Council's open letter, many buildings on NIT-C's campus have officially expired their age. Some of them were even supposed to have been destructed 5 years ago! The students, faculty and support staff at NIT-C who fear for their lives in case such an incident is to repeat itself, would appreciate some sort of moral support while they take up this matter and fight for justice. SoSpeakUpNow! and share the details of this unfortunate incident with more people. Let’s make this issue a major one and help in ensuring that there will be no such occurrence, not just in the premises of NIT-C, but any other institution in the country.

Mannam’s friends and family, my heart goes out to you. I really hope you remain strong during this difficult time.

Meanwhile, here’s NIT-C’s Pravar Chaudhary’s account of what happened in the college along with shocking pictures detailing the incident. I urge you to read this article too.