Narayangarh: 18 'kachha' primary school buildings to be made 'pakka'

The Mamata Banerjee-government will reconstruct 18 primary schools which are "kachha" and lying in a shamble at Narayangarh Assembly constituency that remained with the CPI(M) for the past three decades.

Hundreds of children go to schools everyday risking their lives as no one knows when most of the "kachha" structures would collapse and prove fatal for them. However, no measures have been taken in the past when CPI(M) state secretary and Politburo member Dr Surya Kanta Mishra was the MLA from the constituency till 2016.

The matter came to light after Trinamool Congress bagged the seat in the last Assembly elections when Prodyut Ghosh defeated Mishra. Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs Department also carried out a survey to assess the present condition of the schools.

Officials, including engineers from the department, went to each of the schools and prepared a separate plan to build concrete buildings for the primary schools.

At present there are no toilets in most of the schools. A blueprint has been chalked out to incorporate them in the structures.

A report in this connection has also been prepared which stated that there is a need of around Rs 10 lakh to repair each of the schools. The Panchayat Samity has also sent a resolution in this regard to the District Magistrate.

According to Ghosh, the matter has also been brought to the notice of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee and Paschimanchal Unnayan minister Shantiram Mahato.

Out of the 18 "kachha" schools, five are located in Narayangarh gram panchayat, three in Manya Gram Panchayat, two each in Kushbasan and Hemchandra Gram panchayats respectively and one each in Makrampur, Kunarpur and Belda-I Gram Panchayat.

It may be recalled that before 2016 Assembly elections, the Chief Minister had assured the people of Narayangarh that she would take projects for a comprehensive development of the area.

The Chief Minister held her first meeting after a landslide victory in 2016 Assembly elections in Narayangarh and announced several projects for the area.

The area was a CPI(M) bastion since the party came to power in 1977 and had won in all the Assembly elections at a stretch from 1982 to 2011.

Interestingly, Mishra had won from the seat for consecutive five terms since 1966. But hardly any step was taken to reconstruct the "kachha" buildings to "pakka" ones. Those who used to support the Congress were either driven out of the villages or forced to join the CPI(M) fold.

The dilapidated condition of the primary school buildings reveal the story of sheer neglect by the CPI(M).

Midnapore, that was once the most advanced district in education, has witnessed huge losses and has gone back under the CPI(M) regime.

Ghosh further added: "Eighteen kachha schools in one Assembly constituency after 34 years of the Left Front government revealed that they hardly did anything for improvement of the education system in the state during their rule."

Shantiram Mahato, Paschimanchal Unnayan Affairs department, said: "Our MLA has brought the matter to our notice and decision has been taken to reconstruct the "kachha" buildings to "pakka" ones. Discussions are on about the funding of the project."