In the times of implementation of Right to Education Act, nearly a score of children, majority of them belonging to SC community, in the R-block in Kainakary grama panchayat have their education dreams anchored on the shore as they could not get a boat to reach their school in Kottayam district on time. The people of R-block, completely surrounded the vast Vembanad lake has no other options than boat service to venture out.
A boat service through the Kamalante Moola jetty, which is near to the homes of the children, run by the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) from June 4 has been keeping off the jetty from July 9. So, the last four days the mothers of these children, who are studying at Kanjiram SNDP School from LKG to UP school level, had to walk with these children for nearly two kilometres to catch a boat through the bushy growth on outer bunds. "These children are now taking a boat run on the Alappuzha route and then alight on the route and catch another boat to Kottayam to alight at Kanjiram jetty for the school. It is because of the pressure of people like me that the SWTD had decided to divert the boat running on the Chithira Pattassery route for four decades to Kamalante Moola on June 4. But the sudden change to the previous route from July 9 caught us unaware. It has put the children to further hardships," says Sunil P.Padmanabhan, health standing committee chairman of the Kainakary grama panchayat.
The parents under the leadership of Mr.Padmanabhan had met the Home Minister, Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan who had promised to restore the boat service. However, if the boat services are not restored on Monday, the local people are gearing up to forcefully anchor the boat to the jetty for the convenience of the children. They had earlier anchored one of the boats of the SWTD as a mark of protest.
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