KANCHANPUR, Nov 15: Many school children at Dodhara Chandani Municipality in Kanchanpur are dropping out school for lack of a safer means of transport to cross the local Jogbudha River. 

Boating is only the available means of transport to cross the river here which is relatively not safer and costly as well. 

The school children of Kanjabhoj, Kutiyakbhar and Shantinagar areas of the Municipality are charged Rs 5 per head a time for crossing the river on a boat. A tardy, risky and costlier (for poor) journey to reach the school has forced children to stay home, according to a local Tek Bahadur Sunar.

The school dropouts would eventually set out for India for daily wage. Journey via a boat during rainy season is risky and bearing this fact in mind boat services here remain closed during this season, with the children unable to go to school. Lack of a bridge over the river has proved a major barrier for children of these villages to even complete primary education. 

These villages lack a single person completing the higher education, as Sunar said. Children of those parents who can afford to send their children to schools in India are pursuing higher education in the neighboring country, but parents like us representing the low economic class people have no way than to see the children staying indoors and finally making journey to India for earning, lamented a local Jitusingh Khatri. 

Around 100 households of these villages are in trouble due to the absence of a cemented bridge along the river. 

When contacted, Chandani Dodhara Municipality Executive Officer Mahesh Bahadur Bam said it is making efforts to get an approval from the line Ministry to construct a bridge over the river. A survey has been already done for constructing cemented bridges at two locations. RSS 

 
• kanchanpur
 
• dodhara chandani municipality
 
• dropping school
 
• lack of safer means of transport