Over 300 stranded as floodwater enters residential school in Kendrapada

The residential school in Kendrapada submerged in floodwater

Kendrapada: More than 300 students and teachers of a govt residential school for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe have been stranded in flooded Kulasahi village of Kendrapada district since Saturday, with no rescue in sight.Officials said that the stranded students were safe, even as the ground floor of 15‑year‑old Kulasahi Ashram School at Penthapala gram panchayat in Pattamundai block is submerged in 10-ft-deep water, and inmates packed in rooms on the first floor.The school was marooned after floodwaters from Brahmani river surged on Saturday. The ground floor of the school building, where several students stay, was submerged, forcing all inmates to shift to the first floor.Ajit Barik, block education officer (BEO) of Pattamundai, said the school has sufficient LPG cylinders to cook food for a week, admitting that the strong current has hampered relief and rescue operations, with boat operators struggling to navigate the swollen waters. “We are in touch with the district administration, which has assured us of help,” Barik said.Kendrapada collector Raghuram R Iyer said they have directed Pattamundai block development officer Sheetal Agarwal and district welfare officer Arabinda Ray to provide food, drinking water and other relief materials to the stranded students and teachers.

A teacher said the building is battling a strong current. “We are worried about the safety of the children,” said the teacher.Another staff member said this school, located in a low‑lying area close to the riverbank, faces waterlogging almost every flood season. Authorities should have shifted the students before the waters rose, added the staffer.The plight of the children has left parents anxious. “The authorities committed gross negligence by not shifting the students in time. Mobile phones are our only lifeline. My son told me that all the students are cramped into rooms on the first floor, sleeping tightly packed," said Jayant Mallick of Srirampur.