Nashik [India], August 5 (HornbillTV): Owing to the lack of a bridge on the Daman River, students have to swim or be carried on the shoulders of adults to reach their school Sukla Vidyalaya in Devalcha Pada village in Nashik.

“There are around 15-20 children who have to cross the river to go to school. The river is deep, so we carry them either on our shoulders or in big containers. We request the administration to build a bridge,” said a local resident.

A local resident of the village, Laxman said, “The children of the village in Peth taluka have to swim daily, even in the rain and cross the river to go to school every day by risking their lives. People send their children to school to get an education at the cost of their lives.”

Many parents make their children cross the river every day by sitting on their shoulders and others do not send them to school fearing something untoward. The biggest problem occurs during the rainy days when the backwater of the Suki River is released into the river, and then the river gets flooded. At such a time, children are not able to go to school for many months, due to which their studies are affected.

A local said, “It has been many years since we are living like this. There are no roads, no bridge, which makes it very difficult for children to go to school.”

The people of the village said that in every election, people’s representatives come to the village and the people demand a bridge over the river. From MPs, and MLAs to Zilla Parishads, and Panchayat Samiti members to local public representatives, the people of the village have been pleading for the bridge for years, but the government never pays attention to it. People’s representatives forget the problems of the village after the election tours are over.

The people of the village still have high hopes that a bridge will be built on this river. The way the state government wants to provide education to every child; it must also take some steps in this direction. The people here are demanding that a bridge should be built on the river soon so that children can go to school daily without risking their lives.