These kids trek 24 km on forest track to school and back

BELAGAVI: Going to school has become a risky affair for children of Chapoli, Kapoli, Mudgai and adjoining villages located inside the Khanapur forest. With no bus facility to reach their school in Jamboti — located in the midst of dense forest — the children have no choice but to walk for 24 km each day to go to school and return home.

And with the onset of the monsoon, the stretch has turned muddy causing more hardship to the children. The children, however, are sometimes dropped to school by the forest department personnel in their patrolling vehicles.

Khanapur forest is home to several endangered species and man-animal conflict is common in the region. Villagers have been attacked by leopard, bears and other wild animals in the past. Residents of Chapoli, Kapoli, Mudgai, Varakad-Patye and Amgaon have been demanding amenities like good roads, power supply, education for their children and health services for many years. Speaking to TNIE, Vyankat Patil, a resident of Chapoli, recalled that villagers had even boycotted the recent Lok Sabha elections to draw attention of the government towards their problems. Following heavy rain, the road which leads to Chapoli from Jamboti has turned from bad to worse, due to which the KSRTC suspended bus services to the village. 

Chapoli has a school which provides education from Class 1 to 5. However, for classes 6 to 10, children have to travel 12 km to reach Jamboti. The High Court on December 24, 2014, had instructed the state government to provide all basic facilities to 20 villages located in Khanapur jungles which included Chapoli and Kapoli.