MP wall collapse turns children's clay play at religious event into heart-breaking tragedy
children happily engrossed in making 'parthiv shivling' (creating shivlings out of clay) in Shahpur in Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district on a wet Sunday had no inkling that a cruel twist of fate would snatch nine of their friends forever. Nine children in the 10-15 age group were killed and two injured after a wall of a dilapidated house near a temple collapsed between 8:30am and 9am, wiping out the happiness residents of Shahpur town were deriving from the three-day 'parthiv shivling nirmaan' programme, a staple of the month of 'Saavan', underway at Hardoi Temple.
«I was returning after offering water to the shivling when a wall collapsed, trapping several children who were making clay shivlings under a tent. I was stunned and could not fathom what was happening. The urn in which I had taken water for the offering fell from my hand. I shouted and people for all around rushed to help,» said an eyewitness, who was one of the organisers of the religious event.
A video of his narration of the incident to local police at the site, in which he can be heard saying the programme was on for the past three days, went viral on social media soon after. «The wall collapse took place in a dilapidated house belonging to one Patel. We did not know how precarious its condition was or else we would never have erected a tent using it as support. Constant rains further weakened the structure,» he said.
At the local primary health centre, a tearful parent said there was no one to bandage the wound on her niece's hand, adding that the
