KENDRAPARA: At least 16 students, most of them girls, were injured when a strong bolt of lightning struck the neighbourhood of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya at Kudanagari village under Garadapur block in Kendrapara district on Saturday afternoon.
All the injured students were rushed to the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Patkura. Two of the girl students, who sustained serious injuries, were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Kendrapara.
The school is temporarily functioning on the premises of Kudanagari high school. While students of the high school had left when the lightning struck, classes of Adarsha Vidyalaya were underway.
Block education officer of Garadapur block Ajaya Kumar Sethi said, an explosion-like impact was felt as lightning struck the nearby 33 KV and 11 KV power lines and under its impact, the electrical devices were charged. Even the bulbs of the school exploded and many students fainted in the classrooms.
Dr Manas Ranjan Biswal of the District Headquarters Hospital, Kendrapara said, “Condition of all the students is stable. Their treatment is going on in the hospital.” Due to faulty earthing, sources said, the school building was badly affected. “This should have been looked into by school authorities as it is a matter of life and death for students. The negligence must be dealt with seriousness,” alleged parents of the students and locals.