Ratna Bharali Talukdar

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No. 2 Panikhaiti Lower Primary School
stood in ruins less than a metre away from the banks of the Brahmaputra. The
slogan
 
 &#39;Prathamik shiksha prati goraki shishur moulik
adhikar
 
 &#39; (‘Elementary
education is the fundamental right of every child’) could be seen on the inside
wall of the school building. On the other side of the wall, facing the river,
was a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi and another message in Assamese: &#39;The truth
always prevails&#39;.

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For the students and lone teacher of the only government educational institution in Panikhaiti village on Sontali char , it was a bitter truth that eventually prevailed. The slow climb of the river and the ruins of the school building were a testimony to the impermanence of life on the chars on the Brahmaputra. Rehena Rehman, a former student says, “…the school has eroded away. We have fond memories of going to school together…”By October 2016,  when the turbulent river showed no signs of retreating, and their pleas to the Assam government to protect the school from erosion were ignored, the villagers had removed the doors, windows, tin roof, desks and benches from the slowly-submerging building.
 Chars are small, sandy islands formed by fluvial processes all along the Brahmaputra in Assam (See <a href="https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/struggles-of-the-sandbar-people/"> Struggles of the sandbar people </a> on PARI). They sustain a population of roughly 24 lakh people. Panikhaiti village and the greater Sontali char area are located in the Boko legislative constituency of Kamrup district.

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A few weeks later, on a second visit to the char on November 28, 2016, the ruins of the school had completely disappeared. Where the building once stood, there was now only a stretch of water. Mechanised country boats ferried passengers and goods across this new landscape.The school now runs in a makeshift tin structure about 500 metres from the submerged building. This shed, in the courtyard of headmaster Tariq Ali’s residence, is barely 15 metres from the riverbank. Regular classes and quarterly examinations are being conducted here.

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In 1974, when residents of Panikhaiti decided to set up a school for 6-11 year-old children in the village, Rubeya Khatun (now in her 70s) and her family of farmers came forward to donate two bighas of land [7.5 bighas make a hectare in Assam].  The villagers ran the school themselves until the Department of Elementary Education recognised the institution in 1982 and appointed Tariq Ali its teacher. The char has a few private schools and madrasas, but No. 2 Panikhaiti Lower Primary School had remained the only government-run school ever since. It also served as a community space for meetings and discussions. The single-teacher school attracted children from nearby chars and villages.

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In
just over two months in 2016, the rising Brahmaputra eroded more than two-thirds
of the area of Panikhaiti and displaced more than 200 families.  “As the Brahmaputra began submerging our villages
one after another, I made several visits to the Block Elementary Education
Officer, along with the president of the managing committee of the school and
some villagers, seeking help in shifting the school to a safer location,&quot;
says Tariq Ali. &quot;They turned us away, saying that no funds had been
allocated for the shifting of schools.”

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With
his own residence and the makeshift school barely a few metres from the river, Tariq
Ali has no idea where he will move if the erosion continues. Many displaced residents
have already gone to the towns and cities of Assam in search of land and
livelihoods, and enrolment at the school has plummeted from 198 to 85 students. 
 “It
is difficult to trace the children who have already left the school,&quot; Ali
says. &quot;The uncertainty and risk are so acute that most of the parents did
not even bother to collect school certificates for their children. In all
likelihood these unfortunate children will drop out.”
 
 The
2014
 
 Assam  Human Development Report
 
 states that 93.33 per cent of children in the 6–14
age-group are enrolled in schools in the
 
 char
 
 areas, and 57.49 per cent in the 15-16 age
group are, at present, still continuing their education. The corresponding
figures for Assam state as a whole are 93.85 per cent and 74.57 per cent. The
report also records that
 
 char
 
 areas account for 33.21 per cent of the out-of-school
children in the state, or those who have never enrolled.

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“Before
Panikhaiti, several other revenue villages including Lotoriya, Lotoria Bilorjan, Lotirtari, Goraitari,
Borogul, Kuchiardiya Pathar, Jatia Dia No. 1 and  Jatia Dia No. 2 were eroded by the
river,&quot; says Abdus Samad, a local resident. &quot;We asked the government repeatedly
to adopt anti-erosion measures and protect our villages, but no one listened.” A
former armyman, Samad too has been displaced from his home at least five times
and has now settled in Bar Arikati village of Sontali area, adjacent to Panikhaiti.

According
to data compiled by Assam&#39;s water resources department, the Brahmaputra and its
tributaries have eroded over 4.27 lakh hectares of land in the state since
1950. The total eroded area is 7.20 per cent of the geographical area of the
state. Land loss due to erosion has been estimated at 8,000 hectares a year on
average.
 Even
Rubeya Khatun, who donated land for the school, was not spared. After losing 10
 
 bighas
 
 of homestead and cultivable land to erosion, she now lives with one of her relatives
on the banks of the river.  She gets no old-age
or widow&#39;s pension.
 
 The
people of Panikhaiti village and Sontali
 
 char
 
 area are watching worriedly as the river advances
towards a stream only 50 metres away. If the river meets the stream, they will be
totally cut off, with no access even to the Sontali marketplace. That&#39;s life on
the
 
 char
 
 .
 
 
 Photos: Ratna Bharali
Talukdar

When the river ate the school

ব্রহ্মপুত্রের চরে সবেধন নীলমণি ইস্কুলটির সলিল সমাধি

जेव्हा नदीने शाळा खाऊन टाकली

ନଦୀ ଯେତେବେଳେ ବିଦ୍ୟାଳୟକୁ ଖାଇଗଲା

যেতিয়া স্কুলখন নৈয়ে গ্ৰাস কৰিছিল

جب ندی اسکول کو کھا گئی

Panikhaiti

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When the river ate the school

The only school in Panikhaiti village on Sontali char in Assam has vanished into the Brahmaputra. Of its 198 students, just 85 continue to attend a makeshift school at headmaster Tariq Ali's residence

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