Bhramaputra devours school, homesteads

A primary school in Hossainpur upazila of Kishoreganj district has been devoured by the Old Brahmaputra river along with 70 other homesteads this year, leaving students and families in jeopardy.

Some 227 students of Saheber Char Govt Primary School have been attending classes under the open sky since the river washed away the last bit of its establishment on the night of July 17.

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Headmaster Sumon Ranjan Sarker said the school founded in 1937 lost its infrastructure to river erosion once before. It was then rebuilt in 1999. 

The second infrastructure has also been washed away, rendering the education of the students uncertain, he added. 

River erosion at Saheber Char area is not a new phenomenon. It has taken away at least 400 houses in the last 10 years. The affected families have also lost cropland.

Things took a serious turn two years ago and this years has been the worst, said Joynal Abedin, one of the sufferers.

The building of Saheber Char Government Primary School is being devoured by the Brahmaputra river in Hossainpur upazila of Kishoreganj. River erosion seems to be on the rise alarmingly. Photo: Collected

Faisal Ahmed, a fifth grader, and Saptarshi Sarker, a class four student of the school, said they wanted an immediate arrangement so that their education could continue without hindrance.

Meanwhile, class attendance at the school has declined.

Class five students are suffering the most since they have to prepare for their first-ever public exams -- Primary School Certificate exams, the headmaster said.

Sadequr Rahman, assistant upazila primary education officer of Hossainpur, said the higher authorities had been informed of the situation. The administration already took steps to build a make-shift infrastructure.

While students have been waiting for a new arrangement, at least 200 families have been passing their days in the area with fear that they may be the next to fall victim to erosion, said Md Siraj Uddin, chairman of Sidhla Union Parishad.