Riding a boat across Sutlej, two girls from Punjab border village make it to high school

Kaluwara is surrounded on three sides by waters of the Sutlej and by the border fence on the fourth. During heavy rains, the Sutlej floods fields and homes, forcing people to spend days together on their rooftops.

The village of about 50 households only has a primary school and most girls drop out after Class 5, dissuaded by the effort involved in getting to school. Daughters of small farmers, Kirna is in Class 8 and Kareena in Class 6.

On most days, says Kirna, they are the only ones on the berhi, a self-propelled boat that has no boatman or oars but is manoeuvered using an overhead cable or rope that’s tethered to poles on either ends of the bank. The girls tug at the overhead rope with all their might, haul themselves on to the boat and wait for it to steady itself, before rowing to the other side.

The berhi is a common form of water transport in these parts and is used to ferry, besides people, cattle and vehicles such as bicycles and motorbikes, even tractors. “As there is no road to reach Gatti Rajoke from Kaluwara, some boys also get their motorbikes onto the boat. There have been occasions when the boat has rolled over due to the load,” says Satinder Singh, principal of the Gatti Rajoke school where the girls study.

“In my five years of service in this school, these are first two girls who have taken admission in our school from Kaluwara,” says the principal.

He says the two girls have hardly missed a day of school since the current session began. “Even on days when the Sutlej is in spate, they try and reach school,” he says. Around 12 boys from the village are enrolled in the school, but with many of them helping their families earn their livelihoods, their attendance is usually irregular.

Kareena and Kirna leave their house at 7 am to be able to make it to school by 9 am. On lucky days, the boat is already on their side of the river, but on other days, the wait for the berhi extends for up to two hours. “We have to wait for someone from the other side to row towards us,” says Kirna.

Once they get to the other side, the girls walk another 4 kilometers, crossing two villages (Tinidiwala and Jalloke) along the border fence, before finally making it to school.

Kirna says the rides to school were initially tough, but now, she has learnt how to manoeuvre even when the river is choppy. “Earlier, my hand would hurt when I pulled the (overhead) rope, but not any longer. The villagers taught us how to maintain the right balance,” says Kirna.

The 13-year-old says she enjoys learning English in school and when she comes home, the other girls want to know how her day went. Dropping out of school has never been an option. “Zindagi ch kuch banna hai, parents layi kuch karna hai (I have to achieve something in life, do something for my parents),” she says, adding, “Army join karni hai (I want to join the Army).”

Her mother Shinder Kaur says, “They leave home at 7 am, sometimes even at 6 am, and it takes them two hours to get to school. On their way back, they don’t get home before 5 pm. We feel scared and worried, but what option do we have? Most girls from our village drop out because it is so tough just to get to school, but we want our daughter to study.”

On Monday, Children’s Day, principal Singh and the teachers of Gatti Rajoke village had a surprise in store for both the girls – the school staff organized a small ceremony to honor them.

Kareena, the younger of the two girls, wishes it was easier to go to school. “It will be good if we had a road to the school. Walking is easier than pulling the rope,” she says.

On Monday, Children’s Day, principal Singh and the teachers of Gatti Rajoke village had a surprise in store for both the girls – the school staff organized a small ceremony to honor them and announced that they would bear all their education expenses until the girls complete Class 12.

The government primary school at Kaluwara village was also established in 2021 after then-education secretary Krishan Kumar visited the village in 2020 via boat and released funds for the new school building. Earlier even primary kids used to go to other villages via boat risking their lives.