Staging strong objection on the inactive and ignorant attitude of the concerned authorities, the visually-impaired students staged a protest at Collectorate on Tuesday. They also handed over a memorandum to the State and district authorities calling for immediate legal and disciplinary action following the tragic death of Shirish Kumar Namdev, a 25-year-old visually impaired student. The deceased, a resident of Rewa and an MA Final year student at Mahakoshal Arts & Commerce College, Jabalpur, reportedly drowned during a picnic at Ramghat in Amarkantak on February 22. Through the memorandum, the ‘Divyangjan’ (differently-abled community) alleged that the excursion was organised by the Superintendent, Government State Disabled Welfare Institute, Shivendra Singh Parihar, without obtaining requisite permission from higher authorities.

 

They alleged that the organisers demonstrated a ‘grave lack of security management’ and failed to provide adequate supervision for the visually impaired students during the trip. The memorandum further claimed that the picnic was conducted for personal gain rather than educational or rehabilitative purposes, leading to the avoidable demise of the student. They demanded the Chief Minister, Principal Secretary, Higher Education and the District Collector to registered a FIR against Superintendent, Shivendra Singh Parihar and Joint Director Ashish Dixit for criminal negligence and remove them from their administrative posts immediately. They also demanded a financial relief of at least Rs. 25 lakh for the family of the deceased student and to initiate an administrative inquiry into the conduct and systemic irregularities at the welfare institute. They also warned to further intensify their protest spanning from Rewa to Jabalpur if their demands are not fulfilled within a week.