NEW DELHI: Under a makeshift plastic shed near the Old Iron Bridge, 10-year-old Ananya Singh sits with her notebooks borrowed from friends. A Class VI student at a government school in Gandhi Nagar, she lost all her textbooks when the Yamuna overflowed its banks last month.
“I lost my books in the flood that came 15 days back in August. I passed my recent unit test thanks to the notes my teachers gave me. They are very supportive and also concerned about our studies.”
Her father, Kamal Singh, an e-rickshaw driver, looks weary but hopeful. With four children enrolled in a government school in Kailash Nagar, he knows the importance of education. “I am not educated, nor is my wife, but my kids are very keen about education. I feel proud when I see Ananya doing well in her academics. We’ve lost our kids’ books and dresses in the recent flood. I wrote to the teachers and authorities, and they assured me they will provide them,” he said.
Ananya says her teachers have promised to arrange the missing study materials. For now, their house on the riverbank remains sealed off, leaving the family to live in cramped and uncertain conditions.
A few lanes away, 15-year-old Dev, a Class X student from the Yamuna floodplain, is also trying to keep his education alive. Unlike Ananya, he managed to save his books and uniform, but going to school is nearly impossible.
“My father ran a small jaljeera stall, but he stopped due to his health issues. I managed to save my study materials, but I won’t be attending school. We were first busy moving our belongings to a safer place. And now I am running a small egg stall to support my family,” he explained.
The burden weighs heavily on him, but Dev is determined to hold on to his studies. “I want to pass my 12th exam with good marks, and then I will decide what to do about my career. Right now, I have to support my family,” he said.
Across the Yamuna Khadar, families displaced are living in relief camps. “There is no roof over our heads, and the children can’t sleep at night amid the rain. How can they focus on their studies,” asked Seema Devi, a mother of three children aged between 6 and 13. The flood may have swept away books, but not the determination of kids like Ananya and Dev, or their parents.