Odisha train tragedy: School where bodies were kept 'to be demolished' as fear creeps in

The district administration in Balasore might demolish the part of the school building that was used as a morgue after the tragic train accident on June 2 in which 288 people lost their lives.

Balasore (Odisha): The Bahanaga High School building in Balasore where the bodies of the Odisha train tragedy victims were kept might be demolished as people are uncomfortable sending their children to the school after the tragic accident that left 288 people dead and over 1,000 injured.

Balasore Collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde on Thursday said he had a meeting with the school administration and the local representative who suggested that the school building in which the bodies were kept should be demolished as people had apprehensions about it after it was used as a morgue post the train mishap.

His statement came after his visit to the school premises where the bodies of the victims of the train accident were kept. The collector spent around 45 minutes at the institution. Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, Shalimar-Chennai Central Coromandel Express, and a goods train crashed into one another at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore on June 2 killing 288 passengers.

"I held a meeting with the school managing committee, staff and local representatives. They suggested that the building with the asbestos roof should be demolished since it is already very old and there are some apprehensions among people since it was used as a morgue. I have requested them to pass a resolution on the same, which can be forwarded to the government for necessary action."

"The notion among people that ‘ghosts’ are present in the building is baseless. There is no factual data about it. It’s our duty to help the development of students. The school was transformed and a laboratory was set up in the school. Media houses should restrain from broadcasting such fake news. We should focus on scientific temper and method and avoid such superstitions,” he said.