The Chhattisgarh Government's claim for continuous development and excellent achievements of the last nine years apart, 20-odd Adiwasi girls/students of Bodapal and Jarandih villages, parts of Jangal Dhawalpur gram panchayat located some 40 km away from the district headquarters of Gariaband, are forced to overcome the swift current of the river risking their life to pursue their study.
Notably, after passing their primary/middle school exams, students of Jarandih and Bodapala come to Dhawalpur, 5 km away from their villages, to pursue their secondary and higher secondary education. On the way to Dhawalpur Bankri River (Pairi River) flows, the children have to race against the current of the river to reach their school. During monsoon season, the river often gets into spate due to rains in catchment area, but these hapless children have either to cross the swollen river risking their life to reach school or bunk it altogether for days till it recedes.
The village panchayat has raised the issue at several occasions and even submitted application for constructing a bridge over the river which posed risk to the lives of students but due to apathetic attitude of the MP/MlA of the area their demand could not be fulfilled leading to resentment among the villagers against the State administration. As their repeated appeals went unheard, the villagers have now threatened to boycott the coming up Assembly poll due later this year if the Government failed to construct bridge on the river.
Jangal Dhawalpur sarpanch Ghasnin Bai Nagesh alleged, "For the construction of bridge over Bankri river, we have submitted applications several times besides boycotting gram suraj abhiyan of the State Government last year and had also urged Collector Dilip Vasnikar in Jan Samashya Niwaran camp organised at Dhawalpur last year in which he assured to get the bridge constructed at the earliest but nothing has been done. Now the schools have again started and children have often to cross the swollen river to reach their school. In times of rains, they have to abandon their school for days," she added. Notably, last year on August 8, Class IX student Jamuna Netam of village Bodapala was swept away in the current of the river while crossing it to reach her school but even then the administration failed to do something towards constructing the bridge.