Children in Vidisha trek across dam pillars daily to reach school

In Kakraua, a small settlement of Vidisha district, Madhya Pradesh, children are compelled to negotiate a precarious line of concrete pillars on a check dam across the Betwa River to attend a school that offers education up to the tenth grade. The local school stops at eighth grade, and the nearest higher-level institution lies 13 kilometres away by road; the dam route cuts the distance to roughly 1.5 kilometres, prompting nine students - five of them ninth-grade girls - to use the risky shortcut each morning and afternoon.

The pillars are spaced three to four feet apart, requiring the children to hop across about ten of them, a task made even more dangerous when rain makes the surfaces slippery and the river flow swells. Parents argue they have no viable alternative, fearing either dropping school attendance or exposing their children to danger, a concern underscored by a student who repeated ninth grade after missing classes because she could not cross the pillars.

District education officer N K Ahirwar has visited the site and informed the collector, writing to higher authorities for a solution, though no construction schedule has been announced. Residents are now urging officials to provide a safe crossing so schooling can continue without endangering the youngsters.