On February 24, at about 3 pm, Divya and Soundarya, studying at the government lower primary school, felt the need to relieve themselves. The school had only two toilets: the one meant for students was in an unusable state, while the other—for teachers—was under lock and key. The girls, like other children in the school, then went to their designated relieving area: outside the school, near an open drain, which had sewage water running 6 ft high. Except that they did not return home that evening. Their parents, a poor weaver couple, lodged a complaint. Two days later, they were shocked to find the bodies of the two girls floating in the drain behind their house.
.Following the tragedy, the sewage water has been pumped out, desilting work is in progress and a tall wall is being built on either side of the drain-channel as safety measures. Ironically, the state still has not thought of toilets.
