A portion of a government school which was used as a morgue after the triple-train crash in Odisha’s Balasore has been demolished after students and parents refused to go back to the building.
By Indrajit Kundu, Ajay Nath: A school in Odisha’s Bahanaga turned into a makeshift morgue to keep the bodies of those killed in the horrific three-train crash has been razed after students said they “can’t forget the scary images of those bodies scattered all over our school premises”.
“Our school was full of bodies. We just can’t forget the scary images of those bodies scattered all over our school premises. Almost all the bodies were headless and limbless. Even entrails were visible,” said a student of Bahanaga High School, which was used as a makeshift morgue following the accident that killed 288 people.
Wary of the ghosts of the dead, the students of the government school refused to return to classes and the 65-year-old school building was demolished today.
The school managing committee (SMC) requested the Odisha government to demolish the building, saying it was old and not safe and that the students were reluctant to attend classes in the school where bodies were kept.
However, only the portion of the school where the dead bodies from the accident were kept has been demolished. The bodies were kept there for two days as relatives of the deceased tried to identify the dead.
The locals have decided to sanctify the school premises with a puja. The students also expressed hope that they would feel better after the puja.