People's Democracy

CPI(M) Distributes Relief To Kumbakonam Victims Families

N Srinivasan,

IT was a poignant scene when everyone – both those on the dais and those in the audience – broke into tears as soon as the CPI(M) central committee member, N Sankaraiah, started distributing  the relief  fund  collected by the Party to the parents of the school children who died in the gruesome fire in Kumbakonam.

The venue was Raya Mahal, a spacious marriage hall at Kumbakonam. On August 26, the CPI(M) organised a meeting to distribute the relief collected by the Tamil Nadu state committee of the Party for the victims of the fire in Sri Krishna Aided Elementary School in Kumbakonam on July 16. The hall was jam packed with the parents of the victims, their surviving children, cadre and sympathisers of the Party.

A total of around Rs 4 lakh has been collected for this, out of which a sum of Rs 1,12,000 was distributed to the parents by Sankaraiah. The balance amount  will be used for construction of a community hall at Natham village, which lost many of its children in the fire accident. Former MLA and state secretariat member G Veeraiyan presided over the meeting. At the outset, two minutes’ silence was observed in memory of those children who died in the fire accident.

In his presidential address, G Veeraiyan explained the background in which the meeting was held and assured the victims families that the Party would be with them always in ensuring that all assistance is provided to them.

N Sankariah described the day as the saddest one in his long political life. He said that such an incident should never take place again anywhere in the country. There should be entrances and exits in all the schools wide enough to facilitate easy escape in case of any emergency. Not only the government agencies but also the political parties and mass organisations should verify and ensure that safety norms are implemented in school buildings against fire and other natural calamities.

He said many schools do not have proper sanitary facilities, playground facilities etc and demanded that this situation be corrected immediately. “In a country of 100 crore people, we were able to get only one silver medal in the Olympic games. Lack of playground facilities in schools was the main reason for this”, commented Shankaraiah.

He pointed out that it was only at the instance of the Left parties the central government has come forward to spend 6 per cent of GDP on education over the period of coming five years. He wanted the Tamil Nadu state government to emulate this example and allot more funds for education. Shankaraiah concluded with a call to the people to strive for ensuring safety in schools and to ensure that no such incident ever takes place in future. He felt that will be the best form of homage to the children who lost their lives in this tragic accident.

N.Srinivasan, district secretary proposed a vote of thanks. R C Palanivelu, R Jawahar both state committee members, along with district committee members and others took part in the meeting. It is noteworthy to mention that all the parents who were invited (108 families) attended the meeting, showing the confidence they have in the Party.