TIRUCHY: Residents of Manapparai village in Tiruchy were in for a shock on Saturday. Drunk and passed out on the roadside were two school children, still in their uniform. Concerned, local people called up the school management and informed them about the students. Later, two teachers arrived and dropped the students home in an auto-rickshaw.
Students, according to witnesses, were studying in Class X and XII of a prominent government-aided school at Kovilpatti Road. On lookers saw the boys were unable to walk and collapsed on the road. On closer inspection, they realised the duo were heavily drunk. The crowd tried some basic techniques like pouring water over the boys’ faces and calling out to them to wake them up, but their efforts went in vain.
Later, one of the residents phoned the school and informed them that their students had passed out on the road. Speaking to Express, a resident claimed the boys who were from a ‘prestigious’ school in the area. “No idea what made them consume alcohol,” the resident said. Concerned about its reputation, the school is trying to hush up the situation, alleged local people.
K Ramakrishnan, district’s Chief Education Officer (CEO), speaking to Express said that the news has come to his notice and he has sought a detailed report on the boys from the school management. “I will get the report by Monday,” he said.
Parents of the boys have been summoned by the school for talks and the CEO added that a special counselling session and ‘medication’ had been planned for the boys on Monday.
Though several liquor shops in Mannapparai have been closed due to the new restriction imposed by the Supreme Court on sale of alcohol on highways, some of them continue to operate illegally and sell alcohol. Despite several protests by residents and activists, and visits by officials, alcohol continues to be sold near highways and schools and it remains easily accessible for students in this area.