A tragic incident occurred in Ozare village, Jawali tehsil, Satara district, where a 65-year-old woman lost her life after the wall of a Zilla Parishad school collapsed on her amid heavy rain and strong winds on Wednesday evening.
Victim Identified
The deceased has been identified as Shantabai Lakde. Her husband, Baburao Lakde, had passed away during the Covid pandemic, leaving her to live alone in their home.
Upon receiving information, Jawali tehsildar Praveen Mugdal and group development officer Dr. Nilesh Patil visited the site of the wall collapse. Mugdal stated, 'Around 5:30 pm on Wednesday, Shantabai noticed heavy winds and went to fetch firewood from the ZP school behind her house, fearing an imminent downpour. At that moment, the cement brick wall on the second floor of the multi-storeyed school building suddenly collapsed on her. Shantabai died on the spot due to severe injuries.'
Allegations of Poor Construction
Villagers have alleged that the school building was constructed with poor quality materials. The wall was made of cement and bricks but was not plastered. Mugdal admitted, 'We are investigating why the wall was left in such a dangerous condition. If the incident had occurred during school hours, it could have caused a major disaster.'
Poultry Losses in Kolhapur
In a separate incident at Nave Pragaon village in Hatkanangle tehsil, Kolhapur district, over 2,000 hens died due to heavy rain and lightning in the early hours of Wednesday. The tin shed of poultry farmer Dhanajij Hankare was blown down by strong winds, resulting in the death of the hens due to the heavy downpour. The farmer suffered losses amounting to Rs 2.5 lakh.
Weather Alert
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the districts of Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, and Solapur remain on yellow alert until April 25. Heavy rain accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms is expected in isolated parts of these districts. While daytime temperatures remained high and humid, no rain was reported anywhere in the south-central Maharashtra region on Thursday until 8 pm.
