MANGALURU: For 14 students and a lecturer from Perla in Shibaje village of Belthangady taluk, it is a daily hike of 1-3km to a nearby hilltop to access internet for online classes. The spot has turned into a campsite of sorts, with a temporary tent of tarpaulin and saree-screens.
“Most of us carry mobile phones and power banks. We cannot carry laptops because there is no charging point,” says Soundarya Kairanda, a lecturer at Arasinamakki Government Junior College. From mid-June, the students have been trekking every day to make sure they don’t miss the online classes, she says.
Deepak Hebbar, a II PUC student, attends classes between 9am and 4pm, with a one-hour lunch break at noon when he rushes home.
There are about 150 houses in the area, and around 100 students. Some students carry tiffin boxes as well.
Skanda Prasad, an engineering student, has an online internship between 4pm and 6pm and it can get dark and scary in the evening. We also fear the movement of elephants and leopards here,” says Soundarya.
M Deekshith Hebbar, an engineering student from Bengaluru, said: “Four of us, including Deepak and Deemanth in class 9, and Soundarya thought of putting up a tent in between trees so we could sit down for lessons. Now it is more like a study tent and people take turns based on their online class sessions. “When the place gets too crowded, we face network issues,” he says.
Skanda says he comes to the tent as the BSNL landline connection at home snapped during asphalting of the road and was never restored. “There are students who sit with mobile phones on the roadside and even bus stands for online classes,” he says.
Residents have been demanding a mobile tower for over a decade and had even petitioned the Prime Minister’s Office about four years ago.
“Most of us carry mobile phones and power banks. We cannot carry laptops because there is no charging point,” says Soundarya Kairanda, a lecturer at Arasinamakki Government Junior College. From mid-June, the students have been trekking every day to make sure they don’t miss the online classes, she says.
Students' tent made of tarpaulin and sarees
Deepak Hebbar, a II PUC student, attends classes between 9am and 4pm, with a one-hour lunch break at noon when he rushes home.
There are about 150 houses in the area, and around 100 students. Some students carry tiffin boxes as well.
Skanda Prasad, an engineering student, has an online internship between 4pm and 6pm and it can get dark and scary in the evening. We also fear the movement of elephants and leopards here,” says Soundarya.
M Deekshith Hebbar, an engineering student from Bengaluru, said: “Four of us, including Deepak and Deemanth in class 9, and Soundarya thought of putting up a tent in between trees so we could sit down for lessons. Now it is more like a study tent and people take turns based on their online class sessions. “When the place gets too crowded, we face network issues,” he says.
Skanda says he comes to the tent as the BSNL landline connection at home snapped during asphalting of the road and was never restored. “There are students who sit with mobile phones on the roadside and even bus stands for online classes,” he says.
Residents have been demanding a mobile tower for over a decade and had even petitioned the Prime Minister’s Office about four years ago.
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