2004 Kumbakonam School Fire

On 16 July 2004, a fire broke out, with the school's thatched roof structure catching fire initially. The school started at 9:15 a.m., and during one of the breaks at 10:30 a.m., one of the girl students noticed the fire and alerted the teacher, and the news spread to other classes.

The fire sparked from the midday meal kitchen thatch and spread to the upper level, which also had a thatched roof and spread rapidly. The narrow staircase had sundry material that prevented the exit of children. The staircase was also located close to the kitchen.

The kitchen used fire logs for cooking unlike other schools, which had gas stoves. The school was overcrowded, having 900 children enrolled.The thatch and the supporting bamboo poles caught fire, fell on the children, and also blocked the exit.

The fire service was informed at 11 a.m., and the personnel arrived in a few minutes. But since they were unprepared for such a large-scale fire, the rescue services were not effective. The locals also helped by breaking the concrete window.The injured children were admitted to the Government hospital in Kumbakonam and some of them later got shifted to Thanjavur Medical College hospital.

Victims

The deceased children were taken to the government hospital for postmortem. By the end of the day of the accident, 76 children were reported killed, and their bodies had been handed over to their families by the district administration.

The Collector of the district administration arranged for temporary wards in the Government hospital for the parents to identify their children. The digging of graves for 56 bodies went on until 2 a.m. the next morning, with the help of additional diggers arranged by the district administration.

On 16 July, additional doctors arrived from Kilpauk Medical College, JIPMER Medical College Hospital, C.M.C., Vellore, Salem, and Coimbatore to treat the injured. The casualty increased to 90, 89 of whom were identified and handed over to the parents.

Some of the injured were shifted to private hospitals in Kumbakonam, Madurai, and Chennai as requested by the parents. There were 65 who were still undergoing treatment on 16 July, although four of them later died, increasing the total death toll to 94.

The state government constructed a memorial park near Palakarai, the Cauvery bridge, in Kumbakonam in memory of the lost lives. The park was opened by the then Deputy Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin on 6 June 2010. The park was constructed at a cost of ₹ 19 lakh, housing children's amusement equipment in an area of 7,300 sq ft (680 m2).

The government allotted housing plots to 59 homeless parents of the deceased of the total 89. A charitable trust named Amritha helped construct houses in the plots and the colony was named Amrithapuram. In 2012, 25 families of the victims constructed an Amritha Vinayagar temple on the premises in memory of the lost lives. The temple was consecrated on 21 June 2012.

Verdict

The trial was concluded on 17 July 2014. On 30 July 2014, Thanjavur district session court sentenced school founder Pulavar Palanichamy to life imprisonment and fined ₹5,165,700 (US$65,000). Palanichamy's wife and school correspondent P Saraswathi, headmistress J Santhalakshmi, noon meal organizer R Vijayalakshmi, cook R Vasanthi were sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Officials in the district elementary education office, officer R Balaji, his assistant S Sivaprakasam, superintendent T Thandavan, and assistant G Durairaj were also sentenced to five years in jail. Total fine of ₹5,257,000 (US$66,000) was imposed and ordered the compensation of ₹50,000 (US$630) to parents of each victim.

The chartered engineer, B Jayachandran was sentenced to two years of jail time and a fine of ₹50,000 (US$630) but later the court suspended his punishment.

May all the 94 childerns Souls "Rest in peace".