Patna: Gunjan Kumari, a class 5 student, has to take a dangerous boat ride across the Ganga from her home every day to reach her school in Anta Ghat near the Bankipur area of Patna.
Cowered next to her are her schoolmates, who hold on to each other as the boat meanders through the river, cutting through gusty waters, as the kids murmur a prayer or two for their safe arrival.
Most children from the riverine area of Bihar's capital city endure this plight daily on their journeys between home and school. The lack of a bridge or any other mode of connectivity with Patna forces the residents, including dozens of young students, to take the risky route.
When the water levels in the Ganga rise, the boats sway dangerously keeping the lives of the passengers at heavy risk. The villagers have long been requesting a bridge across the river, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
The only available mode of transportation is by private boat. Locals claim there is no arrangement by the administration for operating the boat at the ghat, and neither are any arrangements made to ensure the safety of the passengers including children. This is when Anta Ghat is located at a distance of just one kilometre from the Patna SSP office and 2 kilometres from the DM's office.
"The water level in the Ganga river has increased a lot and it is very scary to go and come. Due to the high water, the boat sways and it scares me," Gunjan Kumari said.
Deepak Kumar, a fifth-grade student, and his younger siblings too are among the students who are compelled to use this mode of transportation. Similarly, Anshu Kumar, another fifth-grade student, and her younger siblings are also admitted to the same secondary school.
Their village is across the Ganga river and is hardly 5 km away from the capital city. However, when the water level in the river is high, it takes one to one and a half hours to cross this stretch by boat. The students say they leave home at 7 in the morning and reach school by 9 am.
Suresh Singh, a local who too commutes by boat said he is concerned about the children's safety. "It would have been better if there was a school in the village," Suresh said.
"There is neither a school nor any other government office in the village. Sabalpur Diya and Rampur Hasan villages fall in the Diyara area. Residents of these villages have to cross the Ganga River for every need. If the government had constructed a bridge, there would have been no problem during medical emergencies," he added.
Suresh's fear about the children is real as only on Friday, a teacher who was on his way to his school drowned in the Nasriganj Ghat area of Patna. The 25-year-old teacher identified as Avinash Kumar, who taught at a higher secondary school at Chhota Kasimchak, fell into the river while boarding the boat. He was soon out of sight as strong currents made it difficult for onlookers to save him.
Following the incident, the education department instructed all the district officials to identify such river ghats used by teachers and children to reach schools. There were instructions for the deployment of divers at these places.
Instructions were also given to monitor boat overloading and the availability of safety equipment. However, no implementation of this order was observed at the time of filing of this report.
