A dilapidated Bihar school building was demolished on October 9 after India Today highlighted safety risks to 191 students. The school roof was propped up by desks and bricks for months. Officials shifted the children to a safer campus on October 5, while the NHRC sought a report on the matter.

A dilapidated government primary school in Bihar's Darbhanga district, where a collapsed pillar had left the roof propped up with benches, desks and bricks, was demolished on October 9, days after India Today highlighted the danger to children studying there. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also taken suo motu cognisance of the matter and sought a detailed report from the Darbhanga District Magistrate within two weeks.

The school, located in Kiratpur village under Alinagar block, had around 191 enrolled students. Its deteriorating condition had raised serious concerns about their safety, with the main pillar having collapsed four to five months before India Today reported the issue.

The sequence of events saw the administration first shift the students to a safer campus and then demolish the unsafe structure. The NHRC's intervention has brought further scrutiny to the condition of the school building and the administration's response to the reported safety risks.

INDIA TODAY REPORT PROMPTS SHIFT OF 191 STUDENTS

India Today's sister channel Aaj Tak highlighted the school's dangerous condition on its programme Khabardaar on October 2. Within minutes of the report being aired, the government issued an order directing that all 191 students be shifted to another school.

From October 5, classes at Primary School Kiratpur began operating from the nearby Middle School Goswa campus, moving the children away from the unsafe building.

The demolition followed on October 9, when the administration used a bulldozer to bring down the dilapidated structure after the students had been relocated.

ROOF SUPPORTED BY BENCHES, DESKS AND BRICKS

The school building had deteriorated to the point that its main pillar had collapsed, while benches, desks and bricks were being used to support the roof. Classes in the affected section had been stopped, and students were being taught under a tin shed on the school premises.

The precarious condition of the building had persisted for months before the issue was highlighted. The condition of the structure, coupled with the number of children enrolled at the school, raised questions about the safety arrangements in place.

Headmaster Rajendra Kumar told India Today that officials at the block and district levels had been informed about the building's poor condition several times. He said letters had also been sent and officials had inspected the school, but a permanent solution had not been found.

NHRC SEEKS REPORT WITHIN TWO WEEKS

On October 8, the NHRC took suo motu cognisance of media reports about the school's condition and issued a notice to the Darbhanga District Magistrate, seeking a detailed report within two weeks.

The commission said that if the reported facts were true, they raised serious human rights concerns. It also observed that the local administration appeared to have been unaware of the school building's dilapidated condition.

The district administration has been asked to submit its report on the matter.

STUDENTS CONTINUE CLASSES AT MIDDLE SCHOOL NEARBY

With the old building demolished, the 191 students continue to attend classes at the Middle School Goswa campus, where they were shifted on October 5.

The developments followed India Today's report on October 2 and the NHRC's intervention on October 8. The demolition on October 9 brought down the unsafe structure, while the commission's notice seeks accountability over the circumstances that allowed the building's condition to become a serious safety concern.