RABINDRA PRASAD DANI, OP
Jamankira: Students of Bhatapura Government Upgraded Upper Primary School in Dimirimunda panchayat of this block in Sambalpur district are being forced to study amid deteriorating infrastructure, including unsafe classrooms, incomplete toilets and unsafe drinking water.
The school has 162 students from Sishu Vatika to Class VIII.
Of its six classrooms, two have become completely dilapidated, while large cracks have appeared on the walls of the old rooms.
Broken asbestos sheets hanging from the wooden roofing pose a serious safety hazard. Fearing mishaps, the school authorities have stopped using the unsafe classrooms.
As a result, students of nine classes are being accommodated in the remaining four rooms.
Sanitation is another major concern.
Construction of a toilet sanctioned by the panchayat at a cost of Rs 50,000 remains incomplete, while the existing toilet has become unusable.
During the rains, knee-deep water accumulates in front of it, making access difficult.
Female students are affected and are forced to go outside to relieve themselves.
The school also lacks safe drinking water.
Water drawn from the hand pump reportedly turns yellow, raising concerns over hygiene and the risk of waterborne diseases.
Headmaster Dhaniram Behera said the school was established in 1961 and most of its buildings had remained in poor condition for decades.
No major infrastructure upgrade had been undertaken despite the school’s long history, he said, adding that the buildings required urgent attention.
School Management Committee president Durga Sethi said repeated complaints had been submitted to the Block Education Officer (BEO) and Block Development Officer (BDO).
He said he had also approached the District Collector’s public grievance hearing along with the sarpanch.
Sethi said BDO Rabindra Kumar Sethi had visited the school two months ago and assured them that the issues would be addressed, but no work had begun.
Additional Block Education Officer Debaki Naik said a complaint had been received and the issues would be resolved soon.
Sambalpur DEO Lakshman Bhoi said the problems had been taken seriously and assured that a permanent solution would be found soon.