‘Flood’ed with sadness, children collect remains of their school in Barabanki village
Raging Ghaghra-Saryu sweeps away two govt schools in Sarsanda village, renders over 230 families homeless
Although water is the essence of our existence, its excess in form of rain and flood makes human life miserable. The situation worsens in rural areas where otherwise making ends meet is in itself a daily struggle.
Such a grim picture prevails these days in Barabanki district’s Sarsanda village where two government primary schools have been recently swept away by raging Ghaghra-Saryu, leaving kids studying in them in the lurch.
The flood water has not only swept away their schools but also books kept in the two institutions. Over 230 families living in villages along the surging river have been displaced and are being shifted to safer places. Suddenly, daily routine has changed for two school-going kids, Brijesh Tiwari of class 3 and Viru Mishra of class 6, both students of the government primary school in Sarsanda village.
Instead of leaving home early for school, they are now busy collecting remains of their institution that was washed away on September 16 at Sirsanda Panchayat in Barabanki district 80 km off the state capital. River fury and subsequent soil erosion led to the washing away of Primary School, Sarsanda and Upper Primary School, Sarsanda.
Another school at Kanchanpur was swept away two years ago, locals said. Due to this, the basic education infrastructure in the vicinity is in the doldrums. In fact, this time the river swallowed places of worship, houses, work place, agricultural land, cattle and a lot more.
Life of the students and others has turned upside down while local authorities have not done enough to look after the homeless, alleges a local. The Ghaghra river that has ravaged the area after flooding was flowing 0.896-metre above the danger mark in Barabanki on Tuesday, according to the data shared by Uttar Pradesh relief commissioner’s office.
There were 43 students enrolled in Sarsanda upper primary school and 98 at Sarsanda primary school before they were swept away by flood, said Santosh Dev Pandey, Basic Shiska Adhikari (BSA), Barabanki.
Till the first week of September, Brijesh and Viru, both neighbours, used to go to their school together happily. But not anymore. On Tuesday, they were standing 50-metre away from the crumbling last boundary of the school watching it fall into the river with every passing minutes.
“Hum ko bahut bura lag raha hai (I’m feeling very sad),” said Brijesh. “Apni aankhon Ke saamne school ko girte dekh kar rona aa raha hai (I feel like crying to see the school building falling apart due to flood fury),” he said.
Sanjay Rai, block education officer, Suratganj in Barabanki, said. “All children have been temporarily attached to Hetmapur primary school and upper primary school. They have an option to study at Watnera primary school too.”
But the children and their parents claimed they had not been informed about their kids being attached to those schools. SDM, Pawan Kumar, has got several families temporarily relocated to different locations.
“A total of 56 families have been relocated from Baburia, 106 from Keraripur and 72 from Belhari. Of the 72 families, some 42 have shifted while 30 families are still at their place because river water has started receding,” he said.
People are themselves breaking their houses which are in line of danger on the edge of the river. “We are taking away bricks, iron rods and asbestos that will come handy when we will construct our new abode,” said a senior citizen.
The elders of Sarsanda village have known the fury of the Ghaghra-Saryu river that flows along the village and the damage it caused for decades now. But the children realised the scale of the damage when they turned up for school on Saturday and found it missing.
The junior high school in Baburi, a single storey structure coloured in white and green, was swept away in rising water overnight. All that was left of the structure that housed their classrooms, toilets and a kitchen was part of the school boundary wall.
The devastating flood struck the rural village, leaving hundreds of residents displaced and facing significant losses. The floodwaters, which surged unexpectedly due to heavy rainfall, swept away over a dozen houses causing panic among the locals.
The sudden rise in water levels caught many residents off guard, leaving them with little time to evacuate to safer places. The primary school, which serves as a vital educational institution for the children of the village, was swept by floodwaters.
The school’s collapse has caused immense distress and disruption to the lives of the local children and their families.
“When we reached the school on Saturday, It was not there. Some villagers, who were already standing there, informed me that the school had been swept away by floodwater,” said Vaishnavi Mishra, a student of class 3.
Many students claim that they have lost their textbooks and other essential school supplies kept at the school. The loss of the school building has left children without access to education.
The flood has also caused significant damage to other infrastructure in the village, including roads, places of worship and agricultural fields.
The rising water levels have inundated homes, forcing residents to abandon their belongings and seek shelter along the raised village road.
The situation has been further exacerbated by the lack of proper drainage systems in the region, which has hindered floodwater management efforts.
The local authorities have responded to the crisis by launching rescue and relief operations. Teams of emergency workers have been deployed to evacuate stranded residents and provide essential supplies, such as food, water, and medical assistance.
The government has also announced plans to provide temporary shelter and rehabilitation support to the affected families.
However, the challenges faced by the villagers are far from over. The flood has caused widespread damage to their livelihoods as many have lost their crops and livestock. The reconstruction of the primary school and other damaged infrastructure will require significant resources and time.
Prof Venkatesh Dutta, department of environmental science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (BBAU), Lucknow, said, “Ghaghra is a major tributary of the Ganga and flooding in the Ghaghra basin is attributed to several factors. Intensive monsoon rain in the Himalayan foothills and surrounding areas leads to increased water flow downstream.”
“The river flows through a relatively flat and low-lying area, making it prone to flooding. The river course passes through alluvial deposits, which often leads to sedimentation and reduced water-carrying capacity. Removal of vegetation in the catchment area also increases runoff and sediment load. Human settlements, agriculture, and infrastructure development in the floodplain and riverbed increases the impacts of inundation,” he added.
“Sometimes inadequate drainage or insufficient or poorly maintained drainage system exacerbates flooding. Changes in precipitation patterns and increased frequency of extreme weather events contribute to flooding events as well,” Dutta said.