Part of ceiling collapses at KMC, injured professor demands structural audit

Parihar was in her research room inside the Geography lab when the incident occurred around 1 pm. “I was working on my laptop when part of the roof fell on my head. I was covered in rubble to my knees. My colleagues who were outside the lab immediately came and helped. I’m very thankful that it happened on a day when others were there since practical exams were on. Otherwise, I’m alone in the room,” she said, adding that her laptop was also damaged.

“My colleagues got me ice to apply on my head, and also took me to Bara Hindu Rao Hospital. I have a few bumps on my head for which I got a CT scan done yesterday. I will also consult a neurosurgeon,” she added.

Parihar said the room had been recently renovated: “There is a very urgent need for structural audits. There is also a broader point that we talk of disaster, natural or manmade, but colleges are not prepared for it. There aren’t even fire safety audits in colleges. This could have happened to anyone or I could have got hurt much worse.”

Principal Vibha Chauhan said the matter had already been dealt with: “The false ceiling is what seems to have mainly fallen off. I don’t think it was fixed properly. The college contacted the person who renovated it and he’s been asked to redo it. Thankfully the teacher was not injured seriously.”

Asked if a structural audit would be conducted, Chauhan said an engineer was already being consulted with regard to the renovation of the roof, waterproofing, and levelling. “But I don’t think this is because of these issues. This incident seems to have happened because of bad craftsmanship… there will have to be a committee meeting to decide about his work. We were thinking about getting more work done by him, but now we may have to reconsider,” she said.