Forced To Walk 7 km Through Forest Every Day, School Students Appeal For Help

With their village road damaged, children in a village in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district are now forced to walk nearly seven kilometres every day through dense forest to attend school, risking encounters with wild animals.

The route passes through the Male Mahadeshwara Hills forest region, known for the presence of wild animals, including tigers, elephants, and leopards.

Despite the constant fear for their safety, the students from Pacchedoddi village have no option but to walk through the forest if they must reach school since the village road has been severely damaged, bringing transport services to a halt.

Earlier, the Forest Department had provided a jeep facility for students' safety, but that has also been discontinued, say locals.

Parents allege that officials have not taken any step to restart bus services or repair the road. With no transport available, children have once again been pushed to the daily dangerous trek through the forest.

Students Write To Chief Minister

Concerned about their safety, students and their parents have written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, urging immediate action. They have requested road repair work and the restoration of bus services to ensure safe travel to school.

"Doesn't the CM or the local MLA see our plight? We appeal to them to help, they should arrange either a bus or jeep so that we can get to school safely without the danger of encountering wild animals during our journey," said a student.