Piles of debris, including bricks, bits of wood, concrete and broken household items, appeared across the flood-ravaged areas of Dasarathpur block as the floodwater began receding.
In Patapur village, Swadhin Behera (13), with his parents and three siblings, rummaged through a pile of damaged belongings in the house. The house too was badly damaged.
“I am looking for my school textbooks and pencils,” said Swadhin, gazing at a few drenched, mud-stained pages in his hand. “If I find even a few things, I may be able to go back to school,” he said.
like Swadhin there are thousands of kids whose aspiration to get back to school still remains a mirage.
“It could be months before affected children can get back to school. This is because of the impact of floods on families and on the school buildings. Those in a better shape are being used as relief camps and may not be vacant for a long time,” said headmaster of a school in flood-affected area.
“Rebuilding primary and upper primary schools and high schools and re-equipping them with teaching-learning material will cost crores of rupees. The authority has directed the district education department to submit a list of the damaged and partly damaged schools to the district administration within a week”, said district Collector Anil Kumar Samal.
District education officer Kapilendra Mishra said, “About 102 schools have been affected in the flood. We will repair all the schools soon. Many flood affected people are now residing in the school buildings. We hope they will leave the school building soon.”
In many villages, people are still living on embankments and schooling remains a far cry for them who have to struggle with the problems of shelter, food and water. Children have been trying to help. The sight of children catching fish sometimes in their school uniform is not uncommon either in the flood affected areas.