SRIKAKULAM: In a humanitarian gesture, the staff and students of the Government High School in Etcherla pooled over Rs 1 lakh and invested it in fixed deposits to support the siblings who recently lost their parents.
The siblings, Durga Prasad and Kondeti Sai Sarath, lost their parents in a road accident on January 17. While Prasad was in Class X, Sarath studied Class VII at the Government High School in Etcherla.
Their father Kondeti Sankara Rao, a native of Jadapeta village in Ponduru mandal, and mother Jhansi Rani ran a small hotel near Etcherla police quarters. The family lived in the same hotel. The couple and their elder son were heading to Talupulamma Lova on the fateful day when the accident took place.
Rao and Jhansi succumbed to the injuries while undergoing treatment at the King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam, while Prasad escaped with minor injuries.
Following the accident, the siblings started living with their grandfather Venkata Rao, whose only source of income is the monthly social security pension.
On learning about the plight of the siblings, their school headmaster Gattu Sriramulu and another teacher, Parupalli Srinivas Rao, came forward to help them. They pooled Rs 1.2 lakh from the students, teaching and non-teaching staff and invested Rs 50,000 each for the two siblings in a joint fixed deposit account in India Post. They assured to pay Rs 3,000 per month to their grandfather from the remaining money.
Srikakulam district Collector Manazir Jeelani Samoon handed over the fixed deposit bonds to Kondeti Sai Sarath on Wednesday and lauded the school management and students for the kind gesture.
Speaking to TNIE, Parupalli Srinivasa Rao, recipient of the best teacher award, said, "We have 284 students in our school. We inculcate moral values in them since their childhood. Therefore, our students as well as staff always try to help people in distress. A few months ago, we had pooled Rs 50,000 to help Reesu Ganesh (8) of Etcherla, who lost his hand in an unfortunate incident. We also donated an artificial hand to him with the help of the Rotary Club in Mangalagiri. Now, we have pooled Rs 1.2 lakh for Sai Sarath and his brother Durga Prasad. We made a fixed deposit of Rs 1,00,000. The remaining money will be given to their grandfather to take care of the siblings. I hope the money will help the siblings in their pursuit of higher studies."