Ignored by Rajasthan govt, villagers of Dholpur’s hamlets risk lives just to cross a river; children makeshift rafts daily as no bridge connects

ALWAR: Every morning, as the sun peeks over the horizon in Dholpur's Saipau sub-division, 12-year-old Khushbu joins a group of children at the banks of Parvati river. Like generations before her, she prepares for what has become a nerve-wracking daily ritual – crossing the swift waters on a makeshift raft to reach her school in Tasimo.The raft, made from old tubes and beds bound together with weathered ropes, bobs in the water as Khushbu and her friends carefully step into it. Her worried mother, Rajkumari, watches anxiously from the shore, but her face shows the resigned acceptance of what had become a necessity over the years.She calls out to her daughter to be "careful" and she waves back, trying to appear to be brave. She still remembers the incident two years ago when her classmate nearly fell into the rushing waters, an incident that the entire community looks back with fear. When the monsoon begins, the crossing becomes extremely dangerous for children and villagers as the flow of water becomes unpredictable.For the roughly 2,000 residents of six hamlets in Nunhera Gram Panchayat, this precarious crossing isn't a choice – it's their only practical option. The alternative? A gruelling 10km detour that few can afford to make, especially the young students who must reach their schools on time."It's not just about education. When someone falls sick, we have no choice but to transport them across the river on these rafts to reach the hospital," says Hariom, a local resident.