Correspondent, NewsCrunch
Seven girls in school uniform were caught on camera crossing a flooded river just holding each for support.
They were desperate to get to their school on the other side of the river Barnai to write their exams.
A video shows the girls wading through waist deep water of the river, which rises to their chest in certain spots. They cross the entire width of the river risking their lives, holding up their books wrapped in a plastic sheet.
The girls are from the village Bade Damali about 25 kilometres from the Central Indian city of Ambikapur.
Bade Damali and a several other villages in the area get marooned during the monsoons when Barnai swells due to heavy downpour.
People of these villages get cut off from rest of the district and have no option but to wait for the flood waters to recede before resuming their normal lives. The wait may last a few days and sometimes extend to a few weeks as well.
Media reports said the government’s campaign on education had raised awareness and the girls prefer opted to brave the flood than miss their exams.
Villagers complain that their longstanding demand for a bridge across the river has not been met.