Face2News/Vikram Ditya Sharma
Its been eight days since the schools have been reopened in Punjab but for those students who live in Kaluwala village, which is surrounded by river from three sides and neighbor Pakistan from the fourth, the summer vacations just got over today. Notwithstanding, getting ready for the school every morning, these students, seven of whom are girls, were forced to return home disappointed after failing to move the boat through the dense aquatic vegetation, locally referred to as “jungli booti”.
Out of 12 total students, three of them finally reached their school Government Senior Secondary School Gatti Rajo ke, which is situated more than 5 kms away from their village. These students have to first cross a river and then walk 5 kms to reach barefoot to their school.
Sukhwinder Singh and Sandeep Kaur of class 8th and Kirna Kaur of Class 11th said that they were eagerly waiting to reach the school but due to hyacinth, it was not possible for them to cross the river with boat. “Today we found that most of the hyacinth has been flown away and with the help of a small wooden bera, we managed to cross the river”, said Kirna adding that she and her sister Sonjeet used to get up daily and get ready however, they had to stay in the village due to hyacinth problem.
Priyanka Joshi, lecturer in Sociology at Government Senior Secondary School in Gatti Rajo, who belongs to Mohali, said that she is amazed to see the enthusiasm of these kids.
“When I see these students walking 5 kms daily to reach the school and putting their lives in risk while crossing the river, I salute to them. It shows their will and determination to do something in their lives and I wish one day their hard work pays off and they achieve their goals”, said Priyanka.
When asked, Sukhwinder, Kirna and Sandeep said that they want to either join the Indian Army or Punjab Police. "I want to serve my nation. I know it is not easy, but I will work hard to achieve my goal", said Kirna Kaur.
These students are example of the challenges faced by children in Punjab’s far-flung border villages
Two years ago, the plight of two girls from Kaluwala, who navigated the river in a wooden "bera" and trekked over five kilometers to reach school, had drawn attention of people from all walks of life. Even the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had issued a notice to the Punjab Government and a committee was formed, recommending the construction of a "pontoon" bridge but in vai
In 2024, Harjot Bains Punjab’s Education Minister even visited the village himself by boat and announced a bridge project worth over Rs 50 crore. However, the plan is yet to materialize, reportedly due to security clearances required from the defence.