A school building in Bahanaga which was turned into a temporary mortuary for the deceased of Balasore Train Accident is being razed. The process of demolition of a school building began on Friday morning after students expressed their reluctance to return to the place.
The school was hastily turned into a temporary morgue, following the deadly train accident that claimed the lives of 288 people and injured over 1,000.
The school which had a strength of 567 students had six classrooms filled with bodies after the June 2 incident involving three trains- the Chennai-bound Coromandel Express, the Howrah-bound Shalimar Express and a goods train, which left 288 people dead. The incident took place about 100 metres from the Bahanaga High School.
A Class 8 student at the school said, "I feel scared about going back to the school. There were body parts lying on the floor. My younger brother and sister feel scared as well."
Another student said, "Those who are younger to me and the girls will feel scared. If the school is sanitised and painted it would be better for us."
Smruti Rekha Panda, a teacher of the school said that rituals like a havan, according to Hindu traditions should be performed at the school to ward off evil spirits, as per popular belief.
A teacher says, "The collector visited the building yesterday. There is nothing to be scared of & there are no spirits here. It's just superstition. Still, this will be taken down and a new building will be built."
Last Friday, the Coromandel Express collided with a stationary iron ore-laden goods train at Bahanaga Bazar station. Some of its derailed coaches then crashed into the Yeshwantpur-Howrah Express in India’s worst railway disaster in three decades that left 1100 injured.
(with ANI inputs)
