Venomous snakebite at Gadchiroli tribal school kills 3 students
Three girls lost their lives after a venomous snake bit six students sleeping on the floor at a tribal residential school in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra.
The tragedy happened on the intervening night of August 9 and 10, after the school celebrated World Tribal Day.
The victims, Anu Koreti, 8; Sushmita Mandal, 14; and Deepika Lakda, 12, couldn't make it despite being rushed to a hospital 9km away.
Audit ordered for 513 tribal schools
Vehicles struggled with bad roads, causing critical delays in treatment.
While two other girls are recovering and one remains serious but stable, the school is facing action for negligence: authorities have filed FIRs against five people connected to the school and the school's license will be canceled by the Maharashtra government, it said.
Local residents are pushing for better infrastructure since this isn't the first such incident; state officials have ordered a third-party audit of all 513 private, aided residential tribal schools in the State.