Alappuzha:In a heart-warming gesture, a 70-seater boat of the Kerala State Water Transport department was sent to ferry a lone passenger, a 17-year-old student, to enable her to appear for the plus one examination (11th standard) on two days last month amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The student, Sandra Babu, who stays in a remote backwater island at Kuttanad in Alappuzha district, had to appear for the examination on Friday and Saturday at Kanjiramin Kottayam district.
Boats are the only means of transport in this region and due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown the services had stopped plying when the dates of the examination, postponed earlier, were announced.
The Kuttanad region has the lowest altitude in India and is one of the few places in the world where farming is carried on around 1.2 metres to 3.0 metres below sea level (average level of the surface of one or more of earth's bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured).
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Sandra's parents, who are daily wagers, were wondering how to get her to the examination hall when she approached the department. On hearing about her plight, the department did not think twice but decided to extend a helping hand, KSWTD Director Shaji V Nair said.
However, there were two issues-- as two districts were involved.
The student, from Alappuzha, had to write the examination in Kottayam district and they had to deviate from the normal route to pick and drop her. But this was the only option as it was the question of a child's future, Nair told reporters.