CHANDIGARH: A total of 381 students and 70 teachers, including staff members, trapped in rising floodwaters at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Daburi village, Gurdaspur, have been safely rescued.
The school, located along the Gurdaspur-Dorangla road, became inundated after water from the nearby Kiran nullah overflowed. Sources revealed that the nullah, which flows adjacent to the school premises, has not been cleaned for years, leading to severe water accumulation in and around the area.
The rescue operation was carried out by district administration teams with assistance from the Border Security Force (BSF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Due to the high water levels of the Ravi River—submerging the school under approximately 4 to 5 feet of water—vehicles were unable to reach the school as the roads were either broken or submerged. Boats from both BSF and NDRF were deployed, and rescue personnel transported the students to safer locations in Lakhanpal village and Gurdaspur.
Local villagers from Daburi played a vital role in the rescue efforts. Responding to an appeal made from a local religious place, several villagers arrived with tractor-trolleys to aid the stranded children. They navigated through deep floodwaters to reach the school building and transported students to safety.
In response to the serious lapse in judgement regarding student safety, the District Education Officer of Gurdaspur, acting on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner, issued a show-cause notice to the school’s Principal, Naresh Kumar. The notice questions why the students were not sent home despite the district administration having declared a holiday for schools and repeatedly warning about potential flooding near the Ravi River. Authorities deemed the failure to act as putting children's lives at serious risk.
Deputy Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh stated that water levels in the Ravi River have slightly receded compared to the previous day, with further improvement expected. He confirmed that the district administration is receiving multiple calls for help from flood-affected areas and is responding immediately.
Principal Naresh Kumar explained that four to five feet of water had entered the school premises. Some students were picked up earlier by their parents who managed to reach the school using tractor-trolleys. “Before the rescue operations began, breakfast and water were provided to the children and staff. As water levels rose in the morning, we contacted the administration, which then sent the rescue teams,” he said.
Khalsa Aid, a UK-based international non-profit humanitarian organisation, also extended support by deploying half a dozen volunteers to assist with the situation.
Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, a boarding school, was not vacated in time despite clear warnings and official orders from the district administration.
One concerned parent questioned the delay in evacuating the children, particularly when the threat of flooding had been known to authorities for at least three days.
Locals noted that the current flood levels surpass those witnessed during the catastrophic 1988 floods. They also pointed out that the school is located in a known flood-prone zone, which experiences waterlogging almost every year. The land for the school had originally been donated by the Daburi village panchayat.
