At Chattogram school, waterlogging pushes classes to third-floor balcony

Benches are used as makeshift walkways for students to enter the school

A government primary school in Chattogram’s Bakalia has had its ground floor submerged for two months, forcing lessons to be held in corridors upstairs while authorities debate over who should act.

Paschim Bakalia Government Primary School, located beside KB Aman Ali Road, became waterlogged at the start of the monsoon season after road and drain construction work was carried out in front of the building. Teachers say the fifth-grade classroom remains underwater, with pupils now taught on the third-floor balcony.

Parents and staff report that the school used to be flooded during heavy rains, but the water would quickly drain away. This year, however, stagnant water has remained for weeks, with pumps failing to provide a lasting solution.

During a visit on Thursday, two ground-floor classrooms and the bathroom were still submerged. Benches had been placed in the water as makeshift walkways for students to enter the school in single file. Behind the school, another building stands in chest-deep water, which teachers say is seeping onto the school grounds and causing cracks in the boundary wall.

The headteacher, Samit Sen, said blocked drains were compounding the problem. Heavy rain has washed sand and debris into the channels, halting water flow.

He added that while the school used its own funds to clear the drains earlier this year, they quickly filled again with the start of the monsoon.

Chattogram City Corporation's Executive Engineer Mahmud Shafqat Amin said the area falls under a Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) project.

“If they create an alternative drainage system, the water will recede,” he said.

He added that while the school is not under city corporation management, his office would “see what can be done” for the students.

The CDA’s waterlogging mitigation project is being implemented by the Bangladesh Army’s 34th Engineer Construction Brigade. Project director Lt Col Ferdous Ahmed said his team would investigate the cause of the flooding and “take the necessary measures”.