A government teacher is hogging the limelight in Uttarakhand for his daring act to attend duty in a remote area. Forty-five-year-old Jodh Singh Kunwar crosses the river daily using a zip line to reach the school at Danibagar village in Pithoragarh district.
Danibagar suffered major damage this Monsoon season. The village lost its only pedestrian bridge and a micro-hydropower project, and remains cut off from the rest of the world. The villagers fixed a zip line, a pulley connected with the steel wire, over the Jimba river. Reaching the remote Danibagar is not easy due to the damaged road.
Jodh Singh Kunwar says, “I stay at Madkot, which is about 6 km from Danibagar. Before the Monsoon season, I used to come to school on motorcycle. Now, the road has got damaged due to heavy rains and even the pedestrian bridge got washed away recently. Now, I drive up to Teraghat and after that walk 3 km, cross the river using the 30-mt cable line to reach my school.”
Danibagar is home to about 150 families, but the government junior high school is marred by low number of students — two teachers for eight students!
Most of the government employees posted in Danibagar prefers to stay at Madkot due to mobile connectivity and better facilities. With no or weak mobile network, Danibagar offers a challenging situation.
The junior high school teacher has caught the attention of the public and media by posting his video while crossing the river through the zip line. He has set an example for many.