This 15-year-old girl rows to school daily amid floods in UP

Education and hard work stands side-by-side that can make and break a person’s future. With this motto, a girl from Uttar Pradesh seems to understand its significance so well that she did not let the floods take these two aspects away from her. 

A 15-year-old UP girl’s unfazed determination to study and learn at school has become a source of inspiration for many after pictures of her rowing a boat to school went viral.

While the present ongoing coronavirus pandemic has forced several students across India to attend online classes, Class 11 student Sandhya Sahani was unable to do so as she does not have a smartphone, a basic gadget to attend online classes.

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When the school opened, floods hit several parts of Gorakhpur, leaving Sahani with limited options.

However, Sandhya who studies at the Ayodhya Das Girls Inter College on Bank Road in the Bahrampur region in Gorakhpur thought of rowing the boat to school as the only option. 

Speaking to ANI, Sandhya said, “I couldn’t take online classes as I didn’t have a smartphone. When schools reopened, floods hit the area so I decided to reach school by boat.”

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In the video, which is now being widely circulated on social media, Sandhya is seen rowing the boat in floodwater to reach her school.

Several people, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi praised the Class 11 girl’s courage and determination to attend school. Meanwhile, some commented on the poor condition of the school and said that the girl should be given a smartphone to attend school from home.

ANI reported that Sandhya is a daughter of a carpenter and comes from a humble family background. Sandhya rows a boat 800 metres daily in the precarious condition of the Rapti river water to get to her school from her house.  

According to reports, Sandhya rows her boat every morning to reach Raj Ghat. From there, she takes a tempo to reach her school.

The Class 11 student has appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to help build an embankment to prevent her village from getting flooded every year.