Tripura launches school boat service to ferry school students for free

The Tripura School Education Department launched a School boat service to ferry poor students living on the islands of Dumbur Lake in Gumati district to their school for free.

Poor children residing on the islands of Dumbur Lake often find it difficult to reach school, as they do not have the means to pay for boat ride fare. During monsoon, it becomes near impossible for the students to reach school through water bodies.

Taking into consideration their hardships, the school education department on Saturday flagged off a school boat to ferry students from their residence to school free of cost.

Dumbur Lake surrounded by 48 islands is 120 km away from the state capital and fishing is the main source of income of people living in these islands.

“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 told PTI.

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