Erosion of Padma, Modhumoti: 7 pry schools under threat in Faridpur
Existence of seven government primary schools is under threat in three upazilas of Faridpur as banks of the Padma and the Modhumoti rivers continue to be eroded fast.
The Modhumoti river in Alphadanga upazila is closing in on three such schools -- Poshchim Narandia Government Primary School, Pachuria Government Primary School and Bazra Government Primary School.
In Charbhadrasan upazila, the Padma river is getting alarmingly close to Baliadangi Government Primary School and Sobulla Sikdarer Dangi Government Primary School. Nuruddin Sardar Kandi Government Primary School and Kotikandi Government Primary School in Sadarpur upazila are also under threat of erosion by the mighty river.
Headteacher Joynab Begum of Poshchim Narandia Government Primary School, in Alphadanga upazila, said, "The Modhumoti river has reached within eight feet of our school. The tin structure of the school may go into the river any time."
Established in 1980, the institution also has a single-storey building on its 30-decimal compound. The school has 110 enrolled students and four teachers, she said, adding that their future would be shrouded in uncertainty if the school is lost to the river.
With the Modhumoti river only six feet away from the school building now, they have been considering relocating to a new site, said Farida Parvin, headteacher of Bazra Government Primary School in the same upazila.
Baliadangi Government Primary School in Charbhadrasan was established in 1988. The institution had to be moved to the current location after its original campus was eroded by the Padma in 1998. Now the river is eroding its bank about 40 feet away from the school.
The river is once again getting close to the two-storey building of the school, said headteacher Lutfar Rahman.
In Sadarpur upazila, Kotikandi Government Primary School is facing erosion threat of the Padma, as the river has gotten close to 80 yards of the school's tin structure.
Sharif Hossain, headteacher of the school, said another corrugated iron building of the school had to be abandoned a year ago, but the way the Padma has been eroding its bank, the existing building of the school will go into it soon.
The higher authorities concerned have been informed of the present situation, he also said.
Asked, Faridpur District Primary Education Officer Touhidul Islam said they already informed the deputy commissioner of Faridpur and Water Development Board (WDB) about the seven endangered government primary schools in Faridpur.
He also said that he advised upazila education officers and headteachers concerned to take necessary measures if a school building can be saved by relocating.
Explaining various measures taken in this regard, WDB's executive engineer in Faridpur Partha Prothim Saha said they asked Poshchim Narandia Government Primary School authorities to move the school's tin structure to a safer location.
They had been dumping geotextile bags at erosion sites of the rivers to save Bazra Government Primary School and other schools, he added.
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