A Class 7 student’s search for better mobile network connectivity to attend online classes led to his death on Tuesday after he slipped and fell from a hillock. Thirteen-year-old Adira Gagaranga, a tribal boy in Odisha’s Pandraguda village of Rayagada district, used to climb small hillocks near his village as the network strength in his village was very weak.

Adira’s father Narhari Gagaranda said, “On Tuesday afternoon, while Adira was attending his class on the hillock, the stone being slippery due to rain earlier, he suddenly slipped and fell on the ground and the stone crushed his right leg. Adira was unconscious but breathing when we found him, we immediately got a vehicle and rushed him to a nearby hospital. He died while undergoing treatment,” according to PTI.

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It had been raining in the area prior to the tragic incident and the rocks on the hillock were slippery. The accident took place around 5 pm on Tuesday while Adira was attending an online class. He slipped on the wet rocks and fell down, sustaining injuries to his leg and head.

Adira, who studied at a missionary school in Cuttack, had returned home after a lockdown was imposed in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As classes shifted online, Adira found it difficult to continue studies as the network connection in the area was very weak. He then started climbing the adjoining hillocks to get better connectivity.

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After he slipped off a hillock, a firefighting team reached the spot and rushed him to nearby Padmapur Community Health Centre (CHC). As his condition worsened, doctors referred him to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. The 13-year-old boy succumbed to injuries before reaching MKCG Medical.

Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Samir Ranjan Dash told India Today that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had long back demanded from the central government that mobile network and internet connectivity be improved in the state.

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“As Telecom Minister Aswini Vaishnaw ji is a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, we are expecting he will do something for the state,” Dash added.

Dash had earlier admitted that only 40 % of the students in the state have access to good internet connectivity, while the remaining 60 % face network issues.