Workers are busy building a school in Gadai Char village on the banks of the Ganga in West Bengal’s Malda district. For the past two years, children have been attending classes in rooms without a roof, blackboards, benches or tables since a huge river swallowed part of the elementary school during a flood.
Goritora Elementary School has no electricity or toilets. However, for the past few days, the “school” has been buzzing with construction activity. Workers are building new walls, laying roofs, and even building washrooms. Thanks to the election.
The primary school serves as a polling station with two booths and accommodates more than 1,300 voters from nearby villages.
Voting in the third phase of the Malda-Dakshin Lok Sabha constituency is scheduled to be held on May 7, and workers have been given one week to complete construction of school buildings that will serve as polling stations. There is.
“Two years ago, Gangaji changed her policy. She flooded parts of the village and our houses, schools and other buildings sank into the river. So we had to leave. It didn’t happen,” said Sanjiv Mahato, 50, a resident of a village bordering two other states, Bihar and Jharkhand.
“Floods destroyed the school building. Every year after that, the river flooded the school. There is no roof, no tables, no chairs. The teacher comes once or twice a month. Our children learn to read and write correctly. I don’t know how to do it,” added Shambhu Mahato, 32.
According to villagers, most of the youth have gone to Delhi, Haryana and Punjab as laborers. The nearest hospital is in Manichoke, more than 12 km away.
According to district officials, Gadai Char is not the only village affected by the diversion of the Ganga river. “Several villages and buildings in Manichoke district and Kaliachowk block are washed away every year due to erosion by the Ganga,” said Anup Chakraborty, a local BDO.
During last year’s panchayat elections, the local administration set up temporary buildings to serve as polling stations. “This year we are constructing a brick building with an asbestos roof and toilets,” BDO said.
“We are making every possible facility not only for voters but also for polling officials. We are also planning village development projects,” said Malda district magistrate Nitin Singhania. say.
There is no electricity supply in the village, so authorities plan to install two generators ahead of voting day. “We have started installing solar power systems in the village,” says the DM.
BDO is confident of completing the work by May 7th. “We will also install windows, doors, tables and chairs two days before the vote,” he said.
© Indian Express Private Limited
Date first uploaded: April 29, 2024, 04:00 IST
