Hasina orders relocatable schools, colleges on river banks amid floods, erosion

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has asked officials to build relocatable education institutes in the areas that are susceptible to river erosion.

The prime minister issued the instruction at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council, or ECNEC, on Tuesday, Planning Minister MA Mannan said.

The move follows damages to several multi-storey schools on the banks of the Padma and Meghna rivers during this year’s monsoon season, he added.

“Do we ever think about the location while building educational institutions on the banks of rivers?” Hasina said and asked the authorities to follow the model developed by the local residents in Munshiganj.

“The residents of Munshiganj used to build relocatable houses so that they can move the structures easily in times of a crisis,” she said and added that the government needs to follow that model.

The planning ministry will send a letter to all ministries to inform them about Hasina’s orders officially.