NH running through school campuses puts students at grave risk in Odisha’s Gajapati

With the National Highway-326 running through a school campus, the students of the institution have to move from one campus to another putting their lives at risk on a daily basis.  

The Government Upper Primary School at Nualenge under Nuagarh block in Gajapati district has some classes on one side of the NH-326 and some on the other side. To have mid-day meals or to attend their classes, students have to cross the road. The road being a busy one, the students are constantly exposed to danger. 

As if this was not enough, the plasters are falling off the classroom ceiling for which not only the students but also the teachers are in a state of constant fear.  

The students as well as the teachers have demanded the government to keep their school campus on one side of the NH and get the classrooms repaired. 

“Our classes are on one side of the National Highway. To have our mid-day meals, we have to cross the road to reach the other side where some other classrooms are present. While crossing the road, we are in fear. Our classrooms are also not safe as chunks of plaster are falling off the ceiling. So we request the government to bring all our classes within a single boundary,” said Rajesh Paika, a student. 

Expressing his concern, the school’s headmaster Sarat Chandra Sabar said, “Even after a drizzle, the roofs are leaking and chunks of plasters are also coming off the ceiling. It would be better if the government takes steps to repair the ceiling and constructs four more classrooms so that all the classes would be within a single campus and students wouldn’t have to cross the road.”

When contacted, Nuagarh BDO Lokanath Sabar said, “We will inspect the school. If the total number of classes can be put within one campus, we will submit a proposal for the school’s new building. Similarly, after inspection, we will take steps to repair the ceiling.”