School upgrade to save kids from risky raft ride

  • | Friday | 13th July, 2018

The Hirli government school is only till Class V after which children have to trust their lives on a ramshackle raft and a length of rope.Hirli is in Joshi's constituency. There is another route to the school, but it is a kutcha road and children need to travel at least 5km. Now, the state government has sanctioned Rs 4.25 crore for a proper bridge, and construction is likely to start after monsoon. Now, we have to walk 10 kilometres to catch a bus from Dewas to Sanwer, 30 kilometres away, and then walk 9 kilometres to reach the school,” Mahak, a student of class X, and her sister Tammana told TOI.Joshi told TOI that he has asked officials to upgrade the primary school till class VI. Students of Hirli find it convenient to go to a government-run high secondary school in Simrol, which is only 1km away on crossing the river,” Joshi said.A temporary bridge was built on the river three years ago through public participation but it got washed away, the minister said.

INDORE: Shocked by TOI's report on the plight of schoolgirls in Dewas, who have to board a makeshift raft of plastic drums to cross Kshipra river every day, MoS school education Deepak Joshi on Thursday issued orders to upgrade the government primary school in Hirli village so that the children won't have to undertake the perilous journey.TOI reported how girls from Hirli have to risk their lives daily on a raft that is pulled across the river with a rope so that they can go to school in Simrol, the only one in the vicinity where they can study till Class X. The Hirli government school is only till Class V after which children have to trust their lives on a ramshackle raft and a length of rope.Hirli is in Joshi's constituency. There is another route to the school, but it is a kutcha road and children need to travel at least 5km. To avoid a long trek, kids cross the river on a raft.The rain has compounded their plight as the rope connecting the banks often breaks due to the fast-flowing Kshipra.There is a kutcha route to the school but it got submerged after the water level rose above 10 feet. Now, we have to walk 10 kilometres to catch a bus from Dewas to Sanwer, 30 kilometres away, and then walk 9 kilometres to reach the school,” Mahak, a student of class X, and her sister Tammana told TOI.Joshi told TOI that he has asked officials to upgrade the primary school till class VI. “We are working out ways to accommodate the rest of the students in schools in Dewas district, within a vicinity of 7 kilometres,” Joshi said.Government policy dictates that there must be a state-run middle school within 3 kilometres of students’ homes, a high school within 5 kilometres and a higher secondary school within 9 kilometres.“We have governmentrun middle school in Antaliya village, 3km from Hirli, and a high school in Rupakhedi village, around 7km away. Students of Hirli find it convenient to go to a government-run high secondary school in Simrol, which is only 1km away on crossing the river,” Joshi said.A temporary bridge was built on the river three years ago through public participation but it got washed away, the minister said. Now, the state government has sanctioned Rs 4.25 crore for a proper bridge, and construction is likely to start after monsoon.

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