These TN students sit on the roadside near a forest in order to attend online classes
The Hindu
Students of Gundri panchayat in Erode district have to brave the occasional passing of animals, and soldier through bad network, in order to purse their studies, as their village has no internet connectivity
For students living in 15 habitations of Gundri panchayat, a hill area in Kadambur, attending online classes is a major challenge as there is no internet connectivity. The students brave odds and travel 2 km every day to sit on the side of a road that passes through a reserve forest, where connectivity is available, to pursue their studies. Located in the Sathyamangalam Panchayat Union, the Gundri panchayat is situated 94 km from Erode and can be reached from Kadambur by traversing the 15 km road, including a 9.5 km road that passes through the Guthiyalathur Reserve Forest in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR). There are about 1,800 households with over 6,200 people living there depending on agricultural land and working under the MGNREGS.With the clock ticking down to the Lok Sabha election counting day on Tuesday, opposing fronts are perceptibly edgy and poised to continue the rancorous skirmishing that marked the campaign season in Kerala. The United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, is seemingly basking in the “interim victory” granted by various exit polls. The UDF discerns that its poll strategy of turning the polls foremostly into a damning referendum on the Left Democratic Front government’s perceived failures rather than BJP’s “divisive politics” at the national level stood a fighting chance of paying off.