Shocking! Children Risk Their Lives Using a Cable to Cross a River to Get to School (Photos)

The lives of school children in a Nepalese village are being put at serious risk as they are made to cross a river in a really dangerous fashion just to get to school.

 

 

A report by Daily Mail has shown how children in Dhaing Village, Nepal have no choice but to pull themselves across this terrifying cable bridge every day in order to get themselves to and from class.

 

The hazardous river crossing is a lifeline for the residents, who have no choice but to face danger every day in order to go shopping or meet friends and family who live the other side of the Trishuli River.

 

 

There are a number of such crossings in the Benighat district of central Nepal, which require villagers to sit in either a basic loop of fabric or a small ramshackle wooden crate and operate the flimsy cable by hand.

 

Crossers have lost fingers operating the cables, while in 2010 tragedy struck when five people fell into the Trishuli River after a cable snapped.

 

 

Some of the high wires have been improved recently with the addition of supporting pillars or by upgrading the boxes. However, accidents in recent years have galvanised local demand for more footbridges to be built in the Benighat district.

 

Following the 2010 tragedy, an investigation committee was formed, which submitted a report outlining the dangers of cable crossings for children and identifying places to construct suspension footbridges.

 

 

So far only one has been built in the area and while some locals, such as Shreyasa Kumar, use it, many villagers still opt for the shorter rope bridge routes.

 

Kumar said: 'When the river is flooded, I try to avoid it and take the suspension bridge. It’s a longer route, but safe. My family is scared, because five people lost their lives in an accident that occurred in late 2010. I have children. If something happens to me they will be orphaned.'

 

 

Recently, Nepal's Prime Minister KP Oli announced a two-year plan to replace the dangerous cable crossings with 366 suspension bridges in the surrounding area.

 

 

The first of these opened last month, connecting the nearby villages of Manthali and Gimdi. But in the meantime Dhaing residents will have no choice but to continue using the perilous rope bridges.