Teachers, parents build bridge on stream at remote Maha school

Teachers and parents in a remote village school in the mountains in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district bonded together to build a bamboo bridge on a stream that threatened the lives of students when in spate.

The primary school, located in Nim Chauki Khore village nestled in the Ajanta Satmala mountain range, started in 2001 and has around 15 students coming from as far as two kilometres, said a teacher.

During monsoons, water level in the stream running past the school would rise to above three feet, leaving children wading through in danger of getting swept away, a teacher said.

"In the monsoons, the school hardly functioned due to lack of students. We had recently undergone a 'design for change' programme at Aurangabad Zilla Parishad headquarters. Several teachers here decided to implement that learning to build a bridge," said Datta Deore, a teacher.

"A colleague, Sanghapal Ingle, and I approached parents who were more than keen to help. We collected bamboo, bought binding wire and built a bridge in a week. It cost around Rs 50, the price of the binding wire," he added.

Pradeep Bagul, a student,, is all smiles because he knows when the monsoons come in next year, his share of fun and learning with peers at the nondescript school will not be interrupted.

"While crossing the stream in the monsoons, sometimes our books used to get swept away. At times our uniform would be soiled and dripping wet. All that will now be a thing of the past," he said with a smile.