The Nadia administration on Thursday began dismantling a primary school on the banks of the Hooghly at a village near Chakdaha to retrieve building materials like bricks, steel bars as well as door and window frames before erosion eats up the two-storeyed structure.

This is the second school which has been dismantled in a decade in the district because of erosion. The primary school has four teachers and 75 students.

Panic gripped the students and guardians living at Sannyalchar Malopara village of Chakdaha when they realised that the school would soon be lost to the river, which has changed course because of erosion and is flowing barely 150-meters away from the building.

The situation has been aggravated further following the recent spate of rain that caused fresh erosion. It has so far engulfed at least 10 residential houses apart from around 100 acres of agricultural land.

Dilip Sarkar, a teacher of the school, said: “We fear the surging river will soon eat up the school. Continuous rain has led to erosion, bringing the school closer to the river bank. Anticipating further erosion, the administration has decided to dismantle the building and shift academic activities temporarily to the nearby Atal Behari Vidyapith.”

Jharna Biswas, a local resident, said: “People are concerned about the future of the school. Heavy erosion started in July and brought the school closer to the bank.”

Sources in district administration said the irrigation department had tried to arrest the erosion using sand bags, but it did not work.

Nadia district primary school council chairman Jyotiprakash Ghosh said: “We have already purchased a piece of land to rebuild and relocate the school at a nearby location. We began dismantling the existing building so that some materials could be saved for use in the new construction. I am hopeful to get funds for the new building."