School remains across troubled waters in Machkhia village in Kaimur, roughly 180km southwest of Patna.
There is no bridge across a branch of the river Durgawati for village students to reach the other side where the government school is, even after assurances by the administration and several reports by The Telegraph highlighting the issue.
The residents as well as the school students said they have no option but to meet chief minister Nitish Kumar next month with their appeal. Last week, they met the Kaimur district magistrate (DM) and apprised him of their problem.
"Our children risk their lives every day to go to school by crossing the swollen river on a country boat as there is no bridge over it. We have made several complaints to district authorities to construct a bridge over the river but in vain," said Arvind Singh, a Machkhia resident.
While students from classes VI to VIII have been shifted temporarily to the local primary school that can be reached by a circuitous land route, the students of the high school and the secondary school (Intermediate College) still have to cross the river on a country boat, which was donated by a Calcutta-based non-government organisation last year after The Telegraph first reported on the plight of the children who then had to swim to school.
Arvind Singh, who was part of the residents' delegation that met Kaimur DM Rajeshwar Prasad Singh on Sunday, lamented: "Though the district magistrate told the delegation members that he was aware of their demand, nothing has been done on this front in the past one year." According to residents, the deputy development commissioner had visited the village in August last year to take stock of the situation after The Telegraph highlighted the plight of the students.
The senior district official, according to the residents, had promised to provide an additional country boat as a temporary arrangement and a bridge as a permanent solution.
"But so far both the promises have proved hollow," rued Osiyar Singh, another resident.
The principal of the school, Bhupendra Nath, said if a bridge is built more children from nearby villages would come to attend. "Many parents feared sending their wards to school as there were several incidents of children or villagers getting swept away or drowning in the river water in the area," the principal said.
The principal's statement was corroborated by some residents, who recalled a major boat tragedy that they averted a few years ago. "The ferrying of students by country boat remained suspended for a couple of years after the incident," said another resident Deepak Kumar.
Machkhian village has a population of over 2,000. While the government primary school, which teaches students up to Class V, is located in the village, the middle school, high school and the secondary high school (Intermediate College) are on the other side of the river.
The students have to cover a distance of about 15km if they go to school by road. "It takes more than one-and-a-half hours by road. The bridge could help reduce the time and the risk," said a villager.
DM Rajeshwar said he has sought a detailed report from block level officials. "The administration is serious about addressing the problem and it will be sorted soon," he added.
