DEWAS: Students of Hirli village in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas risk their lives to reach schools as they are forced to cross the Shipra river using makeshift boats made up of gallon drums.
Mehak Khan, a class 10 student, along with her friends use these makeshift boats to reach school in Simrol village, as there are no other means of transport available for her to commute.
"My school is in Simrol village which is on the other side of the river. The villagers have made a boat for us using gallon drums. But the boat sometimes overturns and so a few villagers sit near the banks of the river to keep a watch till we successfully manage to cross the river. On the other side our teachers come to receive us so that we can reach school safely," she said.
During the monsoon season, the children often miss their school as the water level in the river increases making it impossible to cross it on a makeshift boat.
"In the monsoon season, we face more difficulty as the river gets flooded. Sometimes, we miss our exams also if the flow in the river is high," she added.
The school teachers are concerned about the students who are coming to school on these boats as they are risking their lives to reach the school.
"I am worried about these children as they are risking their lives every day to reach school. The students are very intelligent and are performing well in school. But coming every day like this is not safe for them," said Mohan Singh Yadav, their teacher.
The villagers claimed that this condition has been the same from the past 35 years and so they have made their own boats to cross the river even if it is risky.
"The situation has not changed from the past 35 years. We always use this makeshift boat to cross the river as there is no other transport system available. It is so dangerous that if the rope with the help of which we pull the boat to the other side breaks due to more weight, we will all get washed away in the river," said a villager Qaiyam Khan.
The villagers also claimed that the administration does not pay heed to their pleas and all the efforts of making MLAs aware of their situation goes into vain.