A weekly cattle market on the premises of a school at Kodomtoli in Tangail district’s Ghatail upazila has affected the life of students as well as the environment.

According to sources, the cattle market at Hasan Public High School, beside the Tangail-Mymensingh zonal highway, has been held every Sunday for the past 30 years.

Students complaiN that though the market is organised on the school ground for one day, they are forced to attend classes amid the filth and bad smell for the whole week. The situation is particularly bad on Sundays when the hue and cry of the cattle market hampers studies. The students also cannot go out for PT classes, games or attend the school assembly on that day.

A source in the upazila administration said the Kodomtoli cattle market, one of the biggest in the district, was currently leased to one Md Istiaque for Tk. 8 lakh.

The lease money is supposedly meant for development works at the school, but locals allege that influential members of the school management committee (SMC) have misappropriated the money. School headmaster Mohammad Ali Jinnah, however, denied the allegation.

About shifting the cattle market elsewhere, the headmaster said: “It has been held on the school premises since 1986. I had written to the Tangail deputy commissioner to shift the market from the school on March 4, 2015. But the matter has not been settled as yet.”

SMC chairman Ismail Hossain said that the market was being held as per the decision of the local people. “So there is no scope to go against their will,” he added.

Digorh union parisad chairman Abul Kalam Azad said they were looking for an alternate venue for the cattle market.

Ghatail upazila nirbhayi officer (UNO) Dilruba Ahmed said that she was not aware of the problem. “Steps to address the issue will be taken after an inquiry,” she added.