Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday directed the authorities concerned to take immediate action after media reports showed Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinees taking tests in waterlogged classrooms at a school in Cumilla.
The directive followed reports published by several media outlets, showing examinees at Ishwar Pathshala High School centre sitting for exams on Tuesday amid waterlogging – some with their feet on benches and others sitting with their feet in water.
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“Following the media reports, the Prime Minister phoned me around 10:00am today (Wednesday) and wanted to know the reason behind the waterlogging at Ishwar Pathshala High School,” Cumilla City Corporation Administrator Md Yousuf Molla told UNB.
He said the Prime Minister instructed him to take immediate steps to resolve the problem. “He asked me to ensure that no educational institution faces such waterlogging and that city residents do not suffer in the same way.”
Acting on the Prime Minister’s directive, the administrator said he visited the school and assured that necessary steps would be taken to ensure a lasting solution.
He said extensive initiatives have already been taken to tackle waterlogging in the city.
“I have visited several waterlogging-prone areas. When waterlogging occurred on Tuesday, all the canals that were blocking water flow were cleared. I spent the whole day visiting different areas, and the work is still ongoing. Even now, I am visiting a clogged canal to ensure it is cleared,” Yousuf said around 7:00pm.
He said the measures are already showing results, as no waterlogging has been reported anywhere in the city despite continuous rainfall since Wednesday morning, and water is now draining quickly.
The administrator also noted that much of the city’s water flows through the Guingajhuri canal into the Dakatia River, but waste dumping had created blockages. “We worked overnight to remove those and restore normal flow,” he said.
School authorities said around 608 students are sitting for the SSC examination at the centre, with 216 in four rooms of an old tin-shed building where waterlogging occurred during Tuesday’s English second paper exam.