RG Kar medical college hostel ceiling collapse- intern escapes, students flag neglect, demand repairs

Kolkata: In a concerning incident, a female medical intern of the girls' hostel at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital narrowly escaped injury after a portion of the ceiling allegedly collapsed.

The incident happened around 10:20 pm on Sunday when the intern had gone to use the washroom. According to statements of other residents, just seconds after she stepped out, a large chunk of the ceiling suddenly came crashing down with a loud noise, shaking the entire floor. She was not injured as the debris missed her.

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The students speaking to Zee News alleged that the condition of the hostel building is poor. They claimed that rooms on the second floor of the old girls’ hostel are also in a risky condition, with plaster falling from the ceiling at intervals. Similar complaints have been raised about the boys’ hostel as well.

Expressing concern over the incident, the students' body on Monday submitted a memorandum to the college principal for the immediate repair and proper maintenance of the hostels, as per a TOI report. 

It has been reported that the students had earlier raised numerous complaints regarding the maintenance. Despite this, they alleged that the college officials maintained that the health department was not releasing funds for maintenance.

A fellow intern told the Daily, "She was lucky that she escaped unhurt. The concrete mass could have hit her on the head if she had been late even by a minute."

"The ceiling in our hostel has become precarious. We hope the college officials will take immediate steps and not wait till someone gets injured," said Sagnik Pal, the campus welfare secretary of the student body.

The recent incident comes in the wake of two other concerning incidents that took place in the hospital. On March 20, a man died after a lift malfunctioned at the facility. The victim suffered severe injuries, including ruptures of the heart, lungs, and liver, along with fractures in his hands, legs, and ribs. He had around 25 injuries across his body and died due to polytrauma.

Just three days later, another incident was reported. Due to an unclean toilet on the ground floor of the hospital, a critically ill 60-year-old patient was forced to walk to the second floor to use the washroom. Shortly after returning, he suffered a massive heart attack and died.

However, in light of the recent incident, the college officials, along with PWD engineers, inspected both the boys' and girls' hostels. Officials said they will be sending a report to Swasthya Bhawan on their findings so that the health department sanctions funds for repair and maintenance.

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