A 10-year-old girl, a resident of Siranchok Besitol in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-19, was swept away by the flooded Churlingkhola river while she was going to school two years ago. Fortunately, Dil Bahadur Rumba, a local, safely rescued her.

Another student, a fifth grader, had also been rescued the same year after he lost balance while wading across the rain-swollen river to reach his school.

A total of 35 students of Siranchok Besitol, a remote settlement in Hetauda-19, go to Kalika Basic School a few kilometres away since their settlement doesn’t have a school.

Students have to cross the river to reach their school which becomes a dangerous undertaking during the monsoon season. To avoid crossing the rain-swollen river, most guardians keep their children at home during this season.

However, a new development in the area has spared the students and their guardians from worrying about the children’s well-being this monsoon season. On Friday, a suspension bridge across the river came into operation much to the relief of Siranchok Besitol locals.

“We would somehow manage to cross the river but it’s dangerous for children to do so,” said Kumar Blon, a local man. “My children’s academic performance would dip during this season because they couldn’t attend school. It would hamper their studies. But from now on, they wouldn’t be missing any more classes.”

Sushil Moktan, a sixth grader at the school, said he can now go to school without worrying about being swept away by the river. “We reach school safely these days,” said Moktan. “We did not go to school when it rained and even when we went, we would leave early to get home safely before it rained. We no longer have to do that and we can focus on our studies without worrying about crossing the stream.”

The new bridge, which is 74-metre-long, was constructed with the conditional grant of the federal government and Hetauda Sub-metropolis at the cost of Rs 3.8 million. Around 85 percent of the budget was provided by the federal government, 13 percent by the Hetauda Sub-metropolis and two percent by the consumers’ committee.

The bridge connects Siranchok Besitol of Hetauda-19 and Galchhang of Raksirang-1. “Around 5,000 people of both local units are directly benefiting from the bridge,” said Nara Nath Subedi, chairman of Hetauda-19.

Mayor Mina Kumari Lama and deputy mayor Rajesh Baniya of Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City formally inaugurated the bridge on Friday.