THATTA: The Garho Middle School, a 50-year-old institution situated in Ghorabari taluka, has been surrounded by concrete structures and building material almost totally blocking people’s access to it owing to the ongoing construction of a housing society, according to stakeholders.

Students, teachers and employees of the school said on Thursday that they had now been left with no other option but to climb a pile of stones, gravel, pebbles etc at the main entrance to get into the school.

The columns of the under-construction structures for the ‘Gulshan-i-Imam Housing Society’ are being raised very close to the outer wall of the façade leaving a narrow walkway, leading to the main gate, for no fewer than 200 students, besides the school staff, according to them.

Students, most of them very young, are often seen falling and getting hurt while climbing up or down the pile.

The construction work has been causing environmental and noise pollution in the entire school and disturbing academic and extracurricular activities alike, lamented the school management.

With the construction work progressing, visibility through windows of classrooms as well as ventilation gets obstructed causing uneasiness and health issues among students and staff.

Ever since the blockage of the entrance this way several months ago, the school management and staff have been by complaining to the builder, Alam Sher Hudiyo, about the intolerable troubles, but he appeared indifferent.

The school management and staff claim that a considerably wide area in front of the school has been encroached upon by the builder to facilitate the construction work and officials concerned are not ready to intervene probably due to his political clout.

“Despite numerous complaints to the officials by teachers, civil society activists of the area and political figures, the builder is not being restrained from his illegal and unethical activities,” the school management told Dawn on Thursday.

It pointed out that under the relevant laws, it was mandatory upon builders to maintain a 75-foot distance between a building structure and highway but the revenue officials frequently visiting the construction site but always turned a blind eye to the infringement.

It also alleged that the builder got furious over a recent protest by teachers and civil society activists and warned the school management against holding more such protests.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023