Over 300 stranded as floodwater enters residential school in Kendrapada

Kendrapada: Over 300 students and staff of a government residential school for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities have been stranded in the village of Kulasahi since Saturday, with no rescue operations forthcoming. Officials confirmed that all individuals inside the school are safe, despite the ground floor of the 15-year-old Kulasahi Ashram School being submerged under 10 feet of water.

The school, located in the Pattamundai block's Penthapala gram panchayat, is situated near a riverbank and routinely experiences waterlogging during flood seasons, raising concerns about the authorities' responsibility to relocate students before the waters rise. The strong current from the Brahmini river's surge on Saturday has submerged the ground floor of the school building, prompting all inmates to move to the first floor.

Ajit Barik, the block education officer, stated that the school has enough LPG cylinders to cook meals for a week, but emphasized the challenges faced by rescue teams due to the strong current, which has made navigation difficult. The Kendrapada collector, Raghuram R Iyer, has instructed the Pattamundai block development officer and the district welfare officer to provide food, drinking water, and other necessary relief materials to the stranded individuals.