School building where Odisha train accident victims’ bodies were kept being demolished; here’s why

The Bahanaga High School building in Odisha which was turned into a makeshift morgue after the bodies of train accident victims were kept is being demolished.

This decision came after the students of the school were scared to return to their classes in the building which was turned into a temporary morgue in the accident that killed 275 passengers.

Though the bodies of the victims have been shifted to Bhubaneswar and the school campus has been sanitised and cleaned, however, the students and the guardians are scared and in a state of panic.

"Once the new building is ready, a priest would sanctify the place so that the children are not scared after the opening of the school,” a school managing committee member, Rajaram Mohapatra said as quoted by HT. A student while speaking to PTI said, “It is difficult to forget that so many bodies were kept in our school building.”

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Earlier on 8 June, Balasore district collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde had visited the school on the directions of the school and mass education department. He had said “I have met members of the school management committee, headmistress, other staff and local people. They want to demolish the old building and renovate it so that children do have any fear or apprehension to attend classes.” A resolution was passed after the district collector had asked the SMC to pass the same for the demand of the demolition. “The school building is old and often used for sheltering people during floods. Bahanaga is a flood-prone area. The school may be renovated under the ongoing transformation programme,” collector said.

A member of the SMC told the district collector that after watching the bodies lying in the school building on TV, “The children are affected and are reluctant to come to school after it reopens on June 16”.

Meanwhile, above 200 bodies have so far been identified and handed over to their families, around 80 still remain unclaimed and unidentified at Bhubaneswar AIIMS morgue, officials said.

The Coromandel Express had crashed into a stationary goods train, derailing most of its coaches on June 2. A few of those toppled over the last few coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Express which was passing by at the same time. In all, 288 people died in the accident and more than 1,200 were injured.

(With inputs from agencies)