Washed away road makes students' learning difficult
Education at two institutions in Dewanpara village in Chinaduli union under Islampur upazila of the district is being badly hampered due to disrupted communication.
An earthen road with a concrete bridge over a canal, which is the only way to reach the institutions from six villages, was eroded at two points during this year's flood.
After being hit by erosion by the Jamuna, Chinaduli Government Primary School and Chinaduli SN High School, established in 1938 and 1969 respectively, were shifted to Dewanpara in Pahluanbad village in 2012, sources said.
The institutions are located on the western side of Baliadah canal and the southern side of Baromasikhal canal. The Baliadah canal divides six villages into western and eastern sides.
A 39-foot concrete bridge was constructed over Baliadah canal, connecting an earthen road from Debraipech Bazar to Dewanpara in the mid-'90s. A 30-foot concrete bridge was built over Baromasikhal in 2000, connecting an earthen road from the northern side of Dewanpara to the southern side, which facilitated communications for the students and commuters, said teachers of both institutions.
Since the two schools were shifted to Dewanpara, students from the eastern villages have been attending their schools by crossing both the bridges, while students of western villages use the same road and cross the bridge over Baromasikhal canal to reach their schools, teachers said.
The bridge over Baromasikhal canal collapsed in 2014, preventing students of both sides from going to the institutions. The two schools jointly made a temporary 30-foot bamboo bridge over the canal to restore communication.
Communication through Debraipech-Dewanpara road to the institutions broke down as a large portion (eastern side) along with the approach of the bridge over Baliadah canal and another large portion of the road, some 100 yards west of the schools, were washed away by flood in July this year, the teachers said.
Students of both sides cannot reach their schools due to the disrupted communication, said Abdul Mannan Jamaly, headmaster of Chinaduli Government Primary School.
“There are 283 students from pre-primary to Class V in my school. Of them, 225 kids of western villages have to walk 2 km through croplands, while the students of eastern villages need to cross the 130-foot-wide Baliadah canal by boat,” he added.
“My school sees poor attendance every day, and the kids who are absent from the classes are lagging behind,” the headmaster said.
“If the situation lingers, there is possibility of massive drop-out of students. The problem should be solved immediately so that the kids can attend their classes,” he added.
Engineer of Local Government Engineering Department in Islampur Md Ahsan Ali said he would inform the authorities concerned about the problem.
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