Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu expressed deep sorrow over the tragic death of two students at Peddapur Residential School in Metpally mandal, Jagtial district. The State Cabinet is also deeply shocked by this incident. Over the past 15 days, two students have died, and others have fallen ill.
The students, Ganaditya, aged 13, and Anirudh, aged 12, passed away on July 26 and August 9, respectively. While the exact cause of their sudden deaths is still unknown, there are suspicions of snakebite and food poisoning. Deputy CM Bhatti, along with Minister Ponnam Prabhakar, visited the school to assess the situation.
In a media conference, Bhatti announced that an inquiry would be launched once the postmortem reports are received. He highlighted the Congress government’s focus on education and health, emphasizing the allocation of significant funds in this year’s budget. The government has earmarked Rs 5,000 crore for building residential school facilities.
To address rising costs, a committee will be formed to review and adjust diet charges in residential schools. Additionally, Bhatti mentioned that affected families would receive both ex-gratia and job opportunities through the Gurukul Society’s outsourcing method. Families without homes would be granted Rs 5 lakh under the Indiramma Housing scheme.
The Deputy CM assured that all residential schools in the State would undergo improvements, with necessary funds allocated for campus upkeep. He criticized the previous BRS government’s negligence, which he claims led to this unfortunate event. Despite funds being sanctioned in 2020-21 for constructing a school building at the Peddapur campus, the money was not released, causing the contractor to halt work.
Bhatti instructed the Residential Schools secretary to ensure emergency medicines, paramedical staff, and treatments for dog and snake bites are readily available. He also announced that Ministers, MLAs, and MLCs would visit residential schools monthly to dine with students as part of the government’s new initiative. Similarly, District Collectors and District Medical Health officers are expected to visit schools, share meals with students, and understand their issues.
