In a first, the Tripura School Education Department has launched a free school boat service to ferry school students. The service has been opened for students living around the islands of Dumbur Lake in Gumati district. The new service comes as a sigh of relief for students of the island who face difficulty in going to their schools everyday with no means to pay for the boat fare. Reaching school in the monsoon times gets very difficult for students living in this area. Considering the struggles of the students in this area, the School Education Department Tripura has initiated the boat service.
Approximately 120 km away from the capital city Agartala, the Dumbur Lake is surrounded by 48 islands, and is one of the primary sources of income for people living in its vicinity. "Dakmura Gumati Senior Basic School has 100 students but attendance is low due to communication bottleneck. Around 50 students come from various islands of Dumbur Lake and they often fail to attend school as they can't afford to bear the travelling expense as the boat is the only means of communication," Chandni Chandran, State Project Director (SPD) of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
"It was the Block Project Coordinator (BPC) who conceptualized the plan for the school boat for poor tribal students. We just lent help by releasing Rs 1.20 lakh under Samagra Shika Abhiyan which focuses on output-based education," she added. Notably, Chandni Chandran flagged off the first-ever school boat in the presence of students and their guardians.
"This is a small amount but will have a big impact as far as education is concerned. I am fortunate to open such an innovative initiative for the students who are downtrodden and need education," Chandran was further reported as saying. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha has also lauded the move to aid poor tribal students of a school in Gumati district's Karbook subdivision.
"First-ever 'school boat' was dedicated to serving the students residing in the enchanting islands of the breathtaking Dumbur Lake", Saha said in a Facebook post on Saturday. While appreciating the initiative, he said, "A big round of applause and appreciation to the indomitable spirit of Block Project Coordinator (BPC) Karbook RD Block, Damodhar Tripura who turned this remarkable idea into a reality". "With the introduction of this innovative initiative, we are ensuring that no student is left behind in their pursuit of education," Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said.
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