Flooded round the year
Students of a primary school in Muktagachha upazila cannot use their school ground even for walking due to overflow of water from an adjacent pond round the year for the last six years.
Ahsanullah Government Primary School was established in 1981 on 15 decimals of land in Nandibari area of Muktagachha town.
Headmaster Md Harun-or-Rashid said he asked the upazila administration and the municipal authorities several times to solve the problem, but no steps have been taken yet.
“We contacted Muktagachha Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Suborna Sarker this month and she visited the school and assured us that she would address the problem soon,” the headmaster said.
There are around 150 students in the school and as the school ground is waterlogged round the year, they cannot use it even for walking, let alone playing. The guardians are also reluctant to send their kids to the school, the headmaster said.
“Due to waterlogging on the school ground, the school building is being affected and the corridor is at risk of collapsing,”the added.
School Managing Committee President Abdul Gafur Mirza said they have informed the owner of the pond Mohammad Shafiullah, but he did not take any steps to prevent the overflow. Already, a portion of the school land has gone into the pond, he added.
“The school has no tube-well and the students have to use the tube-well of a nearby mosque. The school's toilet collapsed some years ago, but it has not been rebuilt yet. The teachers have made makeshift toilet facilities at their own initiative,” Mirza said.
The school students also demanded solution of the prevailing problem soon.
“It is beyond imagination that school kids have to attendtheir classes after crossing the flooded school ground for years,” said Khandakar Manzur Malek Sudipta, who lives next to the school.
Pond owner Shafiullah said he is planning to fill up the pond, so he did not build a wall around it.
Muktagachha Upazila Primary Education Officer Nilufar Hakim said she raised the issue at different coordination meetings of the upazila, but no action has been taken yet.
“We cannot do anything about the problem if the local administration does not take it up,” she said.
The UNO said she visited the school and will take immediate steps to solve the problem.
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