The kids who cross a hazardous bridge to get to school

There is no proper bridge over the Suti River in Netrakona’s Kendua. Students who live on the other side of the river have to use dangerous makeshift bamboo bridges to get to school every day.

Locals say it is difficult to cross the river which flows through the border area of the upazila. Rafts made of banana trees and dingy boats are the only way to cross when the water rises during the rainy season.

A fifth-grade student named Siam told Hello that his house is on the south bank of the river and is several hundred yards from the school. There are no other schools near his home so he has to put his life at risk and cross the river by a makeshift bamboo bridge every day.

The river’s current is very strong in the rainy season, he said.

"For a period of two or three months during the monsoon, we have to walk about one and a half kilometres out of our way to get to school. If there were a bridge over the river, we would be able to come and go safely.”

A local man named Md Shahidullah told Hello, “I am always scared and worried after I send my children to school. Our kids regularly come home crying after their textbooks and notebooks are drenched in the river. No development work has been done to build a bridge in the area for a long time. If there is a bridge here, the students will be able to come and go to school easily and the common people of the area will be able to get about more freely and more conveniently.”

Tajul Islam, the acting headmaster of Rajnagar Government Primary School in the upazila, told Hello that most of the students in his school are residents of the other side of the river and have to get to school every day after enduring serious difficulty.

“There is no limit to their suffering when there is a natural calamity or heavy rain,” he said. “Accidents often occur while commuting to and from school. I’ve heard the local authorities plan to build a bridge over the river for a long time, but there are still no visible signs of construction.”

Lutfar Rahman Akand, chairman of the Royailbari Amtala union council in the upazila said, "Immediately after taking charge of the council, I made a dirt road for students. The local MP is aware of the plight of school students. He also [put in a semi-formal request]. We hope to build the bridge soon after we receive funding from the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief."

Taslima Begum Lipi, acting primary education officer of Kendua Upazila, said: "It is very sad to see a situation where students have to cross the river in this way. But there is nothing we can do. We will, however, report the matter to the higher authorities.”