Jharkhand teenager braves river to attend school
After the Pelol bridge in Jharkhand's Khunti district collapsed from heavy rains, 15-year-old Sunita Horo and her friends now swim across the Banai river once or twice a week just to get to school.
With road access cut off for 12 villages, what used to be a simple five-minute trip has turned into a real challenge.
Students face 40-minute journey
The broken bridge means students face a 40-minute journey and a 12km detour—or they risk swimming across with their uniforms getting soaked.
Some kids have even had to skip school because of it.
Villagers tried using a bamboo ladder as a shortcut over the damaged bridge, but officials stopped that for safety.
Authorities are trying to build a diversion
Authorities are trying to build a diversion near the old bridge, but constant rain is slowing things down. For now, everyone's stuck taking long alternate routes.
The Chief Minister has called for an official probe into why the bridge collapsed—turns out one of its pillars gave way after all that rainfall.