Malda, June 12: A primary school building in Sahapur will be brought down so that an approach road to the bridge over the Mahananda could be constructed.

The Sahapur bridge, inaugurated by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, before the 2006 Assembly polls, cannot be used as the school is an impediment to the construction of the road.

District magistrate Chittaranjan Das said the bridge would be opened to people before the pujas. According to him, the school will be shifted near the Indoor Stadium. The decision was taken at a meeting attended by the officials of the public works department (PWD), primary education and District Sports Authorities today.

Chairman of the district primary education council Uttam Sarkar said the construction of the single-storeyed school building would cost around Rs 10 lakh and the cost would be borne by the PWD. The land will be provided free of cost by the sports department.

Once the approach road is complete and the bridge is open, Sahapur gram panchayat will be directly linked with the district headquarters by road.

Town planners say the opening of the bridge would expedite the process of turning Englishbazar Municipality into a corporation. People with lower income can construct houses in Englishbazar where land price is cheap compared to Malda town.

The bridge was completed by Mackintosh Burn, a government undertaking, at a cost of Rs 12 crore. The foundation stone was laid by the chief minister in 2001.