Guwahati: With no embankment and rising water level, several villages in Assam get cut off during monsoon. And for the students it's an ordeal to attend school; many miss their classes and some even drop out.
One such place is Panikheti, on the outskirts of Guwahati. At the Kushal Konwar ME (KKME) Government School here, Rajkumar is waiting for the final bell. Most of them have a long way back home, across flooded plains.
It's a seven kilometre walk and then by boat to his Rajkumar's home. And the 11-year-old is getting ready for the ride.
"Monsoon means a significant drop in attendance," said K Talukdar, teacher in KKME.
For six months of the year this is the only mode of communication for the villagers of Rajabari and Tin Tukra, the country boat. And though the students may be spared the pollution and traffic congestion it's not an easy ride to school. In fact Rajkumar and his friend Prasenjit ride their own boat.
"Despite all difficulties, we want to study. So, no matter what happens we will go to school," Prasenjit said.
Every family cannot spare a boat, so they pay fishing boats to ferry them across. They are mostly children of daily wage workers.
When the level of water rises even these boats don't operate, which means they miss school. The worry now is that the dropout rate is also increasing by the day.
The grit and determination of these students to defy difficult though not impossible circumstances is Panikethi's story of inspiration.