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CLASSES in a Panchagarh school continue for half a day two days a week because of a regular cattle market being held on the school ground.
   The students and their guardians expressed frustration as the authorities concerned have been dilly-dallying in shifting the market from the premises of Panchagarh Poura Adarsha High School in the municipal area for long.
   The students lamented that people in the area were about to forget the actual name of the school. Rather they know it by the name of the cattle market, they added. ‘Sometimes other people jeer at us saying we study in ‘gorurhati’ (cattle market),’ said a student, while talking to New Age.
   Local people said the cattle market was launched at Rajangarh on the bank of the River Karotoa in 1950. In 1993, the locals established the high school on the cattle market ground.
   Though local people expressed happiness after the establishment of the school, they at the same time demanded the cattle market to be transferred to another place as it hampered the academic environment to a great extent.
   ‘A school and cattle market cannot continue on the same place. The two are totally opposed to each other characteristically. We have been demanding that the authorities concerned should shift the market from the school ground for long. The authorities also time and again assured us of shifting it. But we did not see any significant development,’ said an elderly person in the municipal area.
   The cattle market takes place two days in a week — Sunday and Thursday. On those days classes continue for half a day. The students and teachers said they were facing problems to complete the syllabus because of shortage of classes.
   Class-VII student Mizanur Rahman, Class-VIII student Tamanna Aktar, and Class-X student Kazi Golam Hafiz said although the market authorities cleansed the excreta of the cattle, the compound did not get back its hygienic standard completely. So the students have to cleanse the excreta on class days, the students said, adding that they felt troubled doing the hazardous job.
   Mohammad Iran Ali, a local youth, said, ‘Vested quarters always bar shifting of the school, whenever attempted.’ He, however, would not disclose the identity of the quarters.
   The headmaster of the school, Md Khalilur Rahman, said the administration had been assuring him of shifting the market for long. Dr Abdul Aziz, president of the school managing committee, echoed what the headmaster said.
   Md Ramzan Ali, president of the cattle market committee, said they had no problem in shifting the market to another place if the administration arranged it.
   Additional deputy commissioner (general) Md Monzur Hasan Bhuiyan said the DC had ordered them to find a way to shift the market within the shortest possible time.