A group of students in North 24-Parganas requested the panchayat head of their area to keep the surroundings of their school clean and ensure there was no accumulation of water.
The students of Kanaknagar SD Institution went to the Sandelerbill panchayat office to place their demands at a time the number of dengue cases is on the rise in most of south Bengal.
Ten members of the students’ council visited the Sandelerbill panchayat office last Tuesday.
The council members did a survey around the school at Sandelerbill gram panchayat in North 24-Parganas’s Hingalganj block, about 100km from Kolkata, before placing their demands before the panchayat head:
• Do not allow accumulation of water around the school.
• A drain that runs behind the school should be concreted because water accumulates in the “kaccha drain” and leads to the breeding of mosquitoes.
“There are so many cases of dengue in our area, which is scaring us. If no water is allowed to accumulate around the school and the surroundings remain clean, it would be beneficial to students as well as others,” said Class IX student Lipika Parveen.
The students came across the problems while doing a survey to plant trees in and around the school and thought they should raise the issue with the authorities.
They approached their school head and told him that they would like to meet the panchayat head.
The school head said that when students make a demand, it had a greater impact on the authorities.
“There could be students who are good in academics but they are not bothered about their surroundings. As a school, we have to create aware citizens who would know how and when to raise issues, instead of remaining apathetic,” said Polak Roychowdhury, headmaster of Kanaknagar SD Institution.
Roychowdhury said last week’s experience taught the students how to go to a government office, make an application and place their demands in a constructive manner.
Officials at the Sandelerbillpanchayat office made a note of the students’ demand.
“We have made a note of their appeal and we will hold a meeting on heath very soon. We will discuss the students’ demands then,” Manjula Mondal, panchayat pradhan, Sandelerbill panchayat, told The Telegraph over the phone.
She said a team had been formed to visit different areas of the panchayat to ensure the area is free of mosquitoe-breeding grounds.