Ten years after a fire killed 94 school children in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, India’s children are at a slightly lower risk of dying in accidents, data for those under the age of 14 shows.
They are at greatest risk of dying from drowning and building collapses. Traffic accidents trail far behind.
The most deaths of children occur in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Since 2001, over 50,000 children have died due to accidental causes in Maharashtra. Madhya Pradesh is not far behind. The leading causes of deaths in both states are overwhelmingly traffic accidents. Along with Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, they account for most of the country's traffic accidents that are fatal to children.
There is no specific data related to deaths of school children while engaged in educational activities – travelling to and from schools, accidents at schools or while on school tours.
In the media, bus accidents are the most reported cause of childrens' deaths, partly because of the concentrated number of fatalities. Last week, for instance, 25 students in Telangana died after their bus driver drove past a level crossing as a train was passing.
Over the past ten years, there has been at least one incident per year of buses overturning, crashing, falling into rivers and canals and even catching fire. In one incident in Chennai, in 2012, a child fell through a hole in the floor of the bus and died.
But since the Kumbakonam accident, there have been no fires of that scale. “After Kumbakonam, the government has taken a lot of initiative to prevent such accidents,” said S Kannayiram, a former field officer with the social department of the Tamil Nadu government. “There are stray incidents, but one cannot say it happens often.”
A principal district and sessions court in Thanjavur sentenced on Tuesday the principal of the Sri Krishna Middle School to life imprisonment and convicted 10 accused. The court also acquitted 11 others.
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They are at greatest risk of dying from drowning and building collapses. Traffic accidents trail far behind.
The most deaths of children occur in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Since 2001, over 50,000 children have died due to accidental causes in Maharashtra. Madhya Pradesh is not far behind. The leading causes of deaths in both states are overwhelmingly traffic accidents. Along with Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, they account for most of the country's traffic accidents that are fatal to children.
There is no specific data related to deaths of school children while engaged in educational activities – travelling to and from schools, accidents at schools or while on school tours.
In the media, bus accidents are the most reported cause of childrens' deaths, partly because of the concentrated number of fatalities. Last week, for instance, 25 students in Telangana died after their bus driver drove past a level crossing as a train was passing.
Over the past ten years, there has been at least one incident per year of buses overturning, crashing, falling into rivers and canals and even catching fire. In one incident in Chennai, in 2012, a child fell through a hole in the floor of the bus and died.
But since the Kumbakonam accident, there have been no fires of that scale. “After Kumbakonam, the government has taken a lot of initiative to prevent such accidents,” said S Kannayiram, a former field officer with the social department of the Tamil Nadu government. “There are stray incidents, but one cannot say it happens often.”
A principal district and sessions court in Thanjavur sentenced on Tuesday the principal of the Sri Krishna Middle School to life imprisonment and convicted 10 accused. The court also acquitted 11 others.
