Nagpur: One student of Bhonsala Military School died of dengue recently while 14 others were found to be infected with the virus. Parents have alleged negligence by the residential school, however, the institution authorities have said all precautions were taken.
School’s chief administrative officer Rahul Chaurasia said, “The school has acted promptly on the situation. It all began since October 5, when students started falling ill one by one.”
Chaurasia said, “We have regularly performed Rapid Diagnostic Kit (RDK) tests. In case the test results came positive, we have immediately informed parents asking them to carry out the further course of treatment. All 15 students affected in the hostel were sent back home when they tested positive.”
He added, “A couple of student were even admitted to hospital by the school authority, since their parents were in Bilaspur and Amravati, and needed a day or two to arrive.” We have also submitted a report to the state public health department, he said.
Of the 14 students affected, one is still admitted in hospital. His condition was stable and he is expected to be discharged in a day or two, said officials.
However, the parents of Jeevan Rathod (16), a student of Std X, who expired on October 17, are not convinced. His father Raju Rathod, who is a head constable, said, “I wasn’t informed when my son first got sick. I got a call from the school authorities on October 13, telling me that my son had high degree fever and needs to be taken back home.”
Rathod said, “When I arrived at the hospital, Jeevan was not in a good condition. He was extremely weak and had lost a lot of weight. Such things cannot happen in a day. It was already too late. I was shocked that if my son has been suffering 104 degree fever, why didn’t the school authorities admit him immediately! Moreover, I was informed late about his condition.”
The father adds, “Instead, the school asked me to collect his report from a pathology lab at Dharampeth, leaving my son to his fate. I grabbed the report and it turned out to be dengue positive. The same day I admitted him to a private hospital at Dighori Square. But we couldn’t save him.”
As per the school authorities, they had informed Jeevan’s parents on October 12 as the RDK test result came positive, and the same night he got high fever. “After calling his father on October 12, he arrived on October 13, and since then we had no idea of Jeevan’s condition. We only got the news of his death,” the school said.
As per the school, they have been regularly checking for stagnant water in the premises to prevent further cases, and have even undertaken fogging to prevent mosquitoes on daily basis.
