ATHAGARH : Student of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) at Mundali in Cuttack district have to cross a busy State Highway every day either to go to play or attend physical training classes. Since the Highway witnesses a thick traffic of heavy vehicles almost throughout the day, the school authorities have been demanding a flyover on the road to no avail.The State Highway between Bhubaneswar and Athagarh runs near the school boundary. While the main school building is located on one side of the State Highway, its playground and some staff quarters are located on the other side. Every day, students and their teachers have to pass through the busy road in the morning and afternoon to attend physical training classes and play games.
The senior secondary school imparts education from Class VI to XII and is considered one of the best schools in the district. Principal Ramraj Singh said there is a dire need for construction of a flyover near the school for safety of the students as the vehicular traffic on the road stretch has gone up tremendously. After Mundali bridge was opened in 1996, hundreds of four-wheelers and heavy vehicles from Cuttack and Bhubaneswar pass through the State Highway to reach Athagarh, Angul and Sambalpur.
Near the playground, there are 14 quarters that are used by teachers and daily wage workers, said Singh, who had raised the issue while addressing the parents-teachers annual council (PTC) meeting recently.
He said last year, the PTC members had met MLA Pravat Tripathy, MP Bhartruhari Mahatab and District Magistrate Nirmal Mishra to sort out the problem. None of them has looked into the demand yet.This apart, the then School and Mass Education Minister Devi Prasad Mishra had last year attended the school’s annual day celebration and promised to consider construction of a flyover near the school. However, the promise is yet to be fulfilled.