A 58-year-old government-run primary school in Ratua-I is now on the verge of being swallowed by the Ganga.

The river has already devoured large stretches of Bhutni in Manikchak and Paschim Ratanpur in Ratua-I over the past 24 hours.

The Paschim Ratanpur Primary School, established in 1968, has 320 students and six teachers.

On Thursday, the Ganga was flowing just a few metres from the school premises. With the collapse of the school building appearing imminent, the authorities have shifted furniture, teaching materials and other essential items to a house on the
embankment.

"It's frightening. Erosion is happening at an alarming pace. The school is likely to fall into the Ganga within the next few days. We have all shifted essential items to a house on the embankment," said Bapi Sarkar, headmaster of the school.

Sarkar said the school could run classes from its building last on Monday, after which it became too risky. Students will temporarily be accommodated at the nearby Khasmahal Primary School.

The guardians alleged that despite repeated appeals over the past two years for permanent anti-erosion measures along the vulnerable stretch, no work was done.

Residents living near the school have also started dismantling their homes to move elsewhere.

Just five years ago, the river flowed kilometres away from the school. However, continuous erosion over the past two years led to this crisis, said sources.

Malay Mandal, the chairman of the district primary school council in Malda, said one of the four schools on the Bhutni islet had already been temporarily shifted to a safer location.

"We are contemplating shifting the other three schools as well to safer venues," Mandal said.

The erosion has intensified so sharply that residents are dismantling their houses and moving bricks, rods and belongings to safer locations in a desperate attempt to salvage whatever they can.

Over the past three days, erosion by the Ganga has intensified in Ratua-I. Residents claimed that over 100 houses had been swallowed by the river at Srikantatola, Jittutola and Muniramtola.

On Thursday, the Ganga reached close to the road connecting Srikantatola with the Amdabad police station area in neighbouring Katihar district of Bihar. A portion of the road reportedly collapsed into the river.

Srikantatola remains the worst affected, while erosion continues unabated at Muniramtola and Jitutola. Many have taken shelter in relief camps set up by the administration, while others are huddling under tarpaulin sheets along the elevated embankment road. Cattle are going hungry as grazing fields are submerged.

"I built my house with great difficulty. Now the river is on our doorstep and I am certain to lose it. I am dismantling my house and taking away the bricks so that I can save something," said Subal Mandal, a Srikantatola resident.

Gour Chandra Mandal, the BJP MLA of Manikchak, inspected the erosion-hit areas on Thursday. "The administration is taking immediate measures to extend assistance to the affected people. We are in touch with officials and the state irrigation department so that erosion can be checked," he said.