Wooden beam collapses in CU Hostel, none hurt

Kolkata: A wooden beam from the ceiling collapsed in a room of the PG Lady Students' Hall of Calcutta University on Beadon Row in the early hours of Friday. No injuries were reported in the incident. The heavy wooden slab reportedly came crashing down onto one of the beds in Room No. 17, located on the first floor of the century-and-a-half-old hostel. The bed was unoccupied at the time. According to hostel residents, at least one or two students were present in the room during the incident. A student who was in the room said the beam fell on the bed opposite hers and became wedged in a doorway, averting what could have been a serious accident.

The PG Lady Students’ Hall houses postgraduate women students from various departments, and concerns over the deteriorating condition of the building have been growing for some time. Calcutta University registrar Debashis Das confirmed the incident and said the board of residence secretary and university engineers rushed to the site soon after receiving the alert. “PWD engineers were called in, and based on their preliminary assessment, we decided to relocate the boarders,” he said. Around 75 students who were residing in the hostel have been shifted to university guest houses and other hostels. “We have spoken to the PWD, and they will provide an estimate for the required repair and renovation work. Subsequent action will be taken accordingly,” Das added.