Arish Mujawar, Pune
In a shocking case of a lack of basic infrastructure, students of a government school in Bhiv Dhanora village of Sambhaji Nagar district in Maharashtra have to cross a river on a thermocol boat every day to reach their school. The students use the thermocol boat to cross the backwater of the Godavari River, which flows near their village.
The headmaster of Zilla Parishad Primary School, Bhiv Dhanora, Gangapur, Rajendra Khimnar, said that six students come from a hamlet that belongs to farming communities. They have to cross the Godavari backwater to come to school.
On this issue, the tehsildar of Gangapur, Satish Soni, said, “When the Jayakwadi dam was constructed on the Godavari river, the backwater flowed into Bhiv Dhanora village, so the entire village was relocated to a new place. In the new village, people were allotted plots, but there are 7-8 families who do not live in the village but on their farms because farming is their livelihood. Therefore, these people’s children cross the river to go to school.”
Meanwhile, one of the residents of Bhiv Dhanora village said, “We have been facing this situation since the construction of Jayakwadi dam because there is backwater here. We have appealed to the government many times, but nothing has happened. The village has been divided into two parts and one part is facing difficulties. I appeal to the government to provide us with basic facilities. There are about 50-60 hamlets here. About 200–300 people come and go from here. The administration is doing nothing.”