Dahanu students risk lives in makeshift boat to reach school

It is 2021 and a plastic rope tied across a river, along with a makeshift, rickety wooden boat serve as the only school commute for a group of 40-odd teenagers from the Kosesari and Bavadi villages in Dahanu, Palghar district

It is 2021 and a plastic rope tied across a river, along with a makeshift, rickety wooden boat serve as the only school commute for a group of 40-odd teenagers from the Kosesari and Bavadi villages in Dahanu, Palghar district.

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The Class 10 students of the nearest government school have to attend offline classes for their internal assessments now, after being spared the unideal commute by the coronavirus-enforced lockdown for more than a year.

“We form a human chain holding each other’s hands at the Surya river bank, while boarding the boat. We then tightly hold the two-inch thick plastic rope and slowly move towards the other side of the river,” said Sagar Bhawar, a student. In one trip, six students stand as they cannot sit without risking their balance. The students carry spare clothes in their bags in case their uniforms get wet, especially during the monsoon. The wet clothes are laid out in the school to dry. The distance between the two banks is 600m and it takes around 35 minutes to get from one side of the river to other on the makeshift boat.

The boat trips sees the parents praying for the safe return of their children, even as the 21-year demand of the villagers for a bridge remains in limbo. The inaction has forced many villagers to send their children to other government schools. “Since 2000, the locals have been demanding a bridge, but the proposal has just gathered dust. We have to circumvent 25km on land to reach the other side and are forced to hire private vehicles at high rates as MSRTC buses are irregular,” said Shailesh Karmode, zilla parishad member.

“I have sent countless reminders to the public works department (PWD), but till date I only got empty assurances. The cost of the bridge is ₹6 crore and till date the PWD has not sanctioned the proposal. The PWD has also done many surveys at the spot, but there is still no sign of the bridge till date,” said Karmode.

Vinod Nikole, MLA from Dahanu, said, “I will again actively take up the bridge proposal during the next Assembly session and hopefully get the budgetary grant from the PWD.”