Hindustan Times ·
Shikshamitra dies as heavy beam falls on him during demolition in UP’s Shahjahanpur
A 45-year-old shikshamitra died in Shahjahanpur after a beam collapsed during school demolition. Calls for compensation and insurance support for educators follow.
A 45-year-old shikshamitra was killed after a heavy beam of a dilapidated school building collapsed on him while demolition work was underway in Shahjahanpur’s Gadhiya Rangeen area, police officials said.
Sukhpal Kashyap, a resident of Dhubla Karimnagar village, was supervising the demolition of the old structure when the beam suddenly gave way and fell on him, trapping him under the debris on Tuesday.
Just about five minutes before the accident, the deceased asked a school cook to move away from the building, warning her that falling debris could cause injuries.
The accident occurred around noon when demolition work was being carried out at the dilapidated portion of the primary school in Kuber Gautiya. Sukhpal, who had been working as a shikshamitra at the school for the past nine years, had gone to inspect the structure during the interval.
The cook, Ram Beti, was sitting near the entrance of the old building when Sukhpal asked her to move to a safer location.
The collapse triggered panic at the site. Labourers and villagers immediately began removing the debris and managed to pull Sukhpal out. Villagers took him to a hospital in Bareilly where he died at around 2pm while undergoing treatment, according to officials.
Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) Jai Shankar Srivastava said the building where the children studied was completely safe.
“The children were not in the dilapidated building at the time of the incident. Demolition work was underway when the beam collapsed, resulting in the death of the shiksha mitra,” he said.
Sukhpal is survived by his wife, Sheela Devi, four sons and three daughters. His body was brought to his village on Wednesday after the post-mortem examination. His family members performed his last rites at around 1 pm on the banks of the Ram Ganga river.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday demanded compensation for Sukhpal’s family. In a social media post, Yadav described the death as deeply distressing and urged the Uttar Pradesh government to provide adequate compensation to support the deceased’s family. He also said insurance cover for every shikshamitra should be made a government priority.