The lack of alertness on the part of the authorities in developing requisite infrastructure in the northeastern state of Assam is pushing children to risk their lives to reach school. In Biswanath district that borders Arunachal Pradesh, kids of a government-run primary school have to cross a river to reach their school.

Visuals tweeted by news agency ANI show kids using aluminum utensils as a boat to cross the river. Locals say that this has become a daily routine for kids here. They say that kids are forced to cross the river to reach the school due to non-availability of proper infrastructure and schools in the nearby areas. The nearest school, they say, is located in the Naduwar area of the district.

Local BJP MLA Pramod Borthakur said that he is ashamed to see kids crossing the river using aluminum pots. Pramod said that he will take up the matter with the district officials and make sure that school is shifted to another place.


“I am ashamed to see this. There is no PWD road in the area. Don’t know how government constructed a school on an island. We can definitely provide a boat for the students,” the MLA told ANI.

“I will ask the district officer to shift the school to another place,” Borthakur added.

J Das, a teacher at the school, said that villagers earlier used makeshift boats from banana trees to send their kids to schools. “It worries me that the students cross the river using aluminum pots as there is no bridge in the are,” the teacher said.

Several districts of Assam and neighbouring states are inundated due to incessant rains every year, thus displacing lakhs of people. Earlier this month, excess rainfall and release of water from damns had submerged at least 76 villages in the state and displaced around 1 lakh people.