Mysore/Mysuru: Three students were hurt, one of them seriously, when cement plaster from the roof fell on them at a classroom in Maharaja’s College in city this morning.

While Vishal (see pic), a second year M.Sc student of Criminology and Forensic Sciences, has suture on his head, two of his classmates, Salim and Yashwanth received minor injuries. They were treated at a private hospital. All of them are out of danger.

The incident occurred when 1st and 2nd year students of M.Sc. Criminology and Forensic Sciences were preparing to write exam. Suddenly, the plaster chunks fell from the ceiling injuring three sitting on the chair. The panic-stricken students rushed out of the classroom. The Department lecturers brought this incident to the notice of College Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Mysore University. Following this, today’s exam was put off.

We won’t write exams

Close on the heels of this incident, 1st and 2nd year students of this Department have refused to appear for the examination till their classrooms were shifted elsewhere. They complained that the building was old and unsafe for students. They also boycotted classes as a mark of protest.

Building sturdy, safe

Refuting students’ claims, the Department faculty said the building was sturdy and safe to conduct the classes. Repair works on the roof had been carried out last year to plug leakage. At that time, the contractor had used a drilling machine to remove the old layer of concrete to put the fresh coat of cement to check the seepage of water during rainy season. This morning, around two inch of plaster from a portion of the roof has fallen.

In fact, the Maharaja’s College is a heritage building in which Department of Criminology was functioning. A number of study items, human skulls and skeletons are exhibited in this Department for the sake of students. “We don’t know why plaster peeled off. This will be brought to the notice of the University authorities for further course of action. We will seek opinion of the VC or Registrar whether classes could be continued in this room in the wake of students’ reluctance to attend classes here,” they noted.

Over 50 students are studying in this Department.

Similar problem at MMC&RI Hostel

A similar situation prevailed at Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) Boys Hostel on JLB Road recently. The plaster from the roof of almost all rooms on the third floor of the hostel building had been falling regularly. This forced the MMC&RI authorities to lock up all these rooms and shift the students to KSOU Hostel on Hunsur Road temporarily. The State Government had been requested to release funds to take up renovation of the Boys Hostel building. 

Two months ago, Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar too inspected the hostel building.