Madhumati river Erosion in Faridpur: Lone school on verge of collapse in Bajra
Bajra-Charpara Government Primary School in Bajra village of Faridpur's Alfadanga upazila is the only institution that provides the children access to education in the area.
The school, however, is under threat of collapse due to erosion of Madhumati river, which is swelling with onrush of water in the monsoon and is now within a hand's reach from the school building.
"Madhumati is devouring our union [Gopalpur] gradually. The erosion will get worse when the river water will recede a few days later," said Gopalpur Union Parishad Chairman Khan Saiful Islam.
"If we cannot save the school, our children will lose their scope to get education," said Araj Ali, 70, a resident of the village.
"The school was established in 1995 and its new building was built in 2012. The river has already come very close to the school building. The toilet of our school has tilted towards the west due to erosion. It may collapse any moment, and eventually the main building of the school will also cave in. Due to this fear, many students have stopped coming to the school," said Farida Begum, head teacher of the school.
Md Matabbar, 54, a resident of Katlasur area of Gopalpur union, said the river has come within 200 metres of the houses being constructed under a shelter project at the village.
A similar scenario was seen across one and half kilometre stretch of the riverbank under Panchuria, Bana and Gopalpur unions in the upazila, leaving the people in panic with every passing day of monsoon.
Homesteads of at least 500 families, alongside schools and mosques in the three unions, are under grave threat of river erosion, according to locals.
The Water Development Board had dumped geo sand bags in the area for a while, which reduced erosion to some extent. However, WDB stopped the work and erosion began again in the monsoon, said SM Mizanur Rahman, chairman of Pachuria union.
Every day, people of the area are having their homesteads and croplands disappearing into the river due to erosion, he said.
At least 200 bighas of cropland have already been lost due to river erosion this year in Bana union, said UP chairman Harun-or-Rashid.
"I have been witnessing erosion of the Madhumati river since my childhood. So far, no sustainable measures have been taken by the government to stop it. We have lost our arable lands several times to the river," said Kamal Uddin Ahmed, 46, a resident of Banshtala area of Pachua union.
Santosh Karmakar, sub-assistant engineer of WDB in Faridpur, said a total of 120,000 sand-filled geo bags have been used so far in three unions under Alfadanga upazila to prevent river erosion.
"Even so, erosion could not be stopped. The work has not stopped but due to delay in obtaining necessary permissions, it is currently on hold," he said.
"WDB will do everything necessary to save Bajra-Charpara Government Primary School and the shelter project in Gopalpur union from erosion," the official added.
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