Construction materials occupy playgrounds

Construction materials are kept in front of the classrooms of two government primary schools in Ishwarganj upazila of the district, disturbing lessons as well as extra-curricular activities of over 700 students.

During the recess, the students of the two institutions can hardly walk or play on the playgrounds.

A construction firm, which got the tender for building Ishwarganj-Uchakhila road in Ishwarganj upazila, has kept the materials on the premises of Narayanpur Government Primary School and Paikura Government Primary School for more than 15 days, teachers of the schools said during this correspondent's visit three days ago.  

Nazneen Sultana, headmistress of Narayanpur Government Primary School, said the contractor concerned has kept the materials on the field, ignoring their request. Study and sports of 235 students are being disturbed due to the situation, she added.

Shahinoor Alam and Borhan Uddin, both Class V students of Narayanpur Primary School, said they cannot play on the school ground due to keeping of the construction materials there.

“We urged the school authorities to take immediate steps to remove the materials, but no step has been taken yet,” they said

Dust from the stones causes health hazard for students as well as nearby residents, said a few locals. 

Fazlul Haque, headmaster of Paikura Government Primary School, said the contractor has kept the construction materials on the school playground without taking permission from the authorities concerned.

Members of the school managing committee and local people repeatedly urged the contractor to remove the materials but to no effect, said the headmaster.

Engineer Din Mohammad of LGED in Ishwarganj said construction materials were kept on the school fields for a certain period and these will be removed as early as possible.

Contacted, Jahangir Alam, proprietor of the construction firm, Associate Builders, said they have kept the materials on the playgrounds of the two schools, taking prior permission from the local administration. “We will remove the materials from the fields soon,” he  said.

Ishwarganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Tahmina Akhter said the contractor did not take her permission to keep materials on the school playgrounds.

“The upazila administration will take necessary steps to remove the construction materials,” the UNO said.