Lack of transportation forces village students to walk 15 km to attend college in Odisha's Boudh

Boudh: In a distressing incident from Harabhanga block of Odisha's Boudh district, students from a remote panchayat have to walk nearly 15 kilometres to attend college due to the absence of regular transportation facilities.

Students from the Talagaon panchayat, who are enrolled at Banigochha College, have been facing severe hardship in commuting to and from their educational institution. With no reliable public transport available, they depend solely on a single private bus operating in the area.

However, the bus does not run regularly. Whenever the vehicle is hired for weddings or other reserved trips, the owner suspends the regular route, leaving commuters stranded.

The situation turned worse on Saturday as several Plus Two students faced hardship in returning home from the college after the conclusion of the day's exam. The test concluded at 2 pm, but there was no transportation available for the students to return home.

Around 15 students were compelled to walk the entire 15 km stretch back to their village. Hungry and exhausted, they finally reached home around 6 pm.

For many students in this inaccessible region, pursuing higher education is gradually turning into a struggle rather than an opportunity. The lack of basic transport infrastructure has raised serious concerns among the locals.

Villagers have questioned when the Boudh transport authorities will address the issue and provide a dedicated bus service for students in the remote area. They have also demanded immediate intervention.

Localts have urged the administration to take prompt steps to ensure that students are not forced to endure such hardship in the future.