Jenisha Jernis
October 7, 2020
Balugodu village students climbing trees in search of network connection
( source: daijiworld.com)
Students in the village of Balugodu(Sullia) — due to poor network connection in the village — have found themselves in forests and hillocks — risking their lives climbing trees and rooftops in search of network connectivity in order to attend online classes.
Starting schools in the midst of Corona anxiety is a challenge for the current government. Thus, children were advised to get their education through online classes. The children of the village in the district of Dakshina Kannada are not only attending online classes but also risking their lives to do it.
Balugodu is the last village of the Sulya taluk of Dakshina district. It is a village located at the foot of Pushpagiri Hill where wild animals like Elephants and Leopards are frequently spotted. The network connection in this area is extremely bad. The village residents were already facing network problems and now, that the students have been asked to attend online classes they have found themselves hunting for network connectivity. More than 100 students in this area have been forced to search for connectivity by climbing trees in the surrounding forests.
Students living in areas without network have built tents in the high forest where some connectivity is available. Students living in these regions only get to attend classes if they somehow manage to get network connectivity. For these students looking for network connectivity in the dense forest has become a daily routine. There is no SIM connectivity available in their area, therefore students are being forced to roam around the jungle looking for a hillock or a tree to climb so they can attend online classes on their mobile.
In an interview with daijiworld.com, Honnappa Poyyemajalu, a villager said that even in emergencies, we are unable to contact anyone and now even our children are facing the same fate. Other students in this region also have to struggle for network connectivity by climbing onto the roof of their homes. Whenever the Kollamogru — Kalmakaru area near Balugodu loses power, the network is also shut down. This causes a continuous power supply disruption to the connection system. The villagers used to previously supply diesel to the generator of the BSNL tower. It is a tragedy that even children have to face dangers for education.
He also said that repeated requests were made to representatives to put up a mobile tower in the village, but they didn’t get any positive results. The villagers had also written a request letter to the Prime Minister and they were told that the problem would be resolved. However, so far, no steps have been taken to address the issue.
Sources: Uchannel, daijiworld.com, newsable.com
Edited by: Aditya Das