Kerala witnessed another heartbreaking tragedy today, highlighting the grave negligence of the Pinarayi Vijayan led state government. The death of Mithun (13), a class 8 student of Thevalakkara Boys High School in Kollam district, who was electrocuted on school premises, has sent shockwaves across the state.
The incident occurred around 8:30 AM today when Mithun climbed atop the school’s bicycle shed to retrieve a shoe that had fallen a near building during play. In the process, he came into contact with a live power line and suffered a severe electric shock. Though he was immediately rushed to the hospital, doctors were unable to save his life.
Locals have alleged that the power line running dangerously close to the school building was in poor condition for a long time. Serious accusations are now being levelled against the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Education Department for ignoring repeated warnings.
Adding to public anger, Education Minister V. Sivankutty sparked controversy with his remarks, attempting to shift the blame entirely onto the school authorities. He questioned the actions of the principal and headmistress, and dismissed his own responsibility by stating that it was impossible for the Director of Education to monitor all 14,000 schools in the state. His statement that he would visit the accident site only after noon further enraged locals.
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Protests broke out at the school premises as angry residents condemned the government’s indifference. Protesters expressed frustration that no responsible official had arrived on the scene, with only police officers present to manage the situation. The lack of timely response has fuelled widespread criticism of the state administration.
Speaking to the media, the President of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of the school said Mithun slipped while trying to retrieve his shoe and accidentally came into contact with the power line. He confirmed that the school authorities had alerted KSEB long before the incident, warning them of the dangerously low-hanging power line.
The school’s headmistress corroborated this, stating that a formal complaint had been filed with KSEB in May, urging them to rectify the issue. However, no action was taken. The negligence in ignoring these warnings is now at the centre of public outrage.
There are serious allegations that KSEB deliberately ignored directives to reposition the hazardous power line. The so-called ‘fitness inspection’ of the school before the academic year began in June is being widely condemned as a sham. It is evident that anyone looking at the school could have identified the danger posed by the low-lying wire. Yet neither KSEB nor the concerned school authorities took any preventive action.
This tragedy has once again exposed the cracks in Kerala’s public safety and infrastructure management under the CPI(M) led government. The state, under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, is being accused of shielding its departments and shifting blame onto school teachers and management, rather than owning up to the systemic failure.
As Kerala mourns the untimely death of a young boy, questions remain unanswered, chief among them, how a school operating under such dangerous conditions received clearance to function. The incident underscores the deadly cost of bureaucratic apathy and the urgent need for accountability in public systems.
Mithun’s tragic death is not an isolated incident but the second systemic killing in Kerala within weeks, following the collapse of the Kottayam Medical College building that claimed the life of Bindu on 3rd July due to similar bureaucratic negligence and delayed response. Together, these back-to-back tragedies expose a chilling pattern of administrative apathy, decaying public infrastructure, and the dangerous culture of blame-shifting entrenched in the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left government. Instead of ensuring safety and accountability, the state machinery has repeatedly failed its people, first by ignoring warnings, then by deflecting responsibility after disaster strikes.
