Winds blows away hostel roof sheets; three students injured

Puttur: Three students suffered injuries after the roof sheets of Devaraj Urs Backward Classes Post-matriculation Hostel at Urlandi on Balnadu road in town were blown away by strong winds.

The injured students are  Manish (16), a native of Sakleshpur and a First PU student of Kombettu PU College; Kanakaraj (19), a native of Koppal and a student of the Bettampady First Grade College; and Rakesh (18), a native of Sakleshpur and a student of Vivekananda Degree College. They have been admitted to the Government Hospital in Puttur.

Around 70 students were residing at the hostel when the strong winds effortlessly blew away all the loose roof sheets of the hostel. Most of the students hid beneath the cots to save themselves from then forces of nature. In the melee, the roof sheets fell on the three students and injured them. The remaining 67 students had a miraculous escape. The clothes do the students have been destroyed.

Puttur Assistant Commissioner H K Krishnamurthy rushed to the spot and helped in rushing the injured children to the hospital. Meanwhile, arrangements have been made to accommodate the children at retired ASI Chinnappa Gowda’s house at Sudana Residential School.

The post-matriculation hostel has been functioning from the rented building for the last six years by paying a monthly rent of Rs 20,000.

“Temporary arrangement will be made to accommodate students at Kombettu Dravida Brahmanara Vasathi Nilaya. Sites have been earmarked for the hostel building,” informed Zilla Panchayat CEO Dr Selvamani R after visiting the injured students at the hostel.

20 cents of land has been ear marked for the new hostel, informed Puttur Taluk Panchayat president Radhakrishna Borkar.

In the backdrop of the student’s clothes being damaged during the incident, measures have been taken to supply clothes to the students.