GORAKHPUR: Living up to the motto of ‘Nari Shakti’ (women power), a 15-year-old class XI girl student and daughter of a carpenter rows her boat 800 metres in intimidating currents of the Rapti river daily to reach her school from her house in Bahrampur area of the district. The girl’s video of rowing the boat in school uniform has gone viral, inviting all-round praise for her courage and dedication towards studies.
The girl, Sandhya Sahini, who seeks inspiration from Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi, Kalpana Chawla, PT Usha and the like, said that she wanted to excel in studies so that she could give a good life to her parents and siblings.
Sandhya studies in Ayodhya Das Girls Inter College on Bank Road. She rows her boat to reach Raj Ghat, from where she takes a tempo to reach her school. “My school was closed for a long period due to Covid-19 lockdown and now we are facing the challenge of flooding in the Rapti. I don’t want to miss any further classes as I don’t take any tuition. I am totally dependent on my school for my studies,” she told reporters.
“I appeal to the CM to get an embankment constructed in my area as flood water has entered many houses and families are forced to live on terraces under plastic sheets,” she said while thanking the CM for the construction of ghats like Ram Ghat, Raj Ghat, etc.
