Kullu village kids sit on cliff for cell signal

MANALI: It a long and dangerous daily trek for children of Majhan village under Gara Parli panchayat in Himachal Pradesh ’s Kullu district, as they have to climb a steep hill, with a deep gorge on one side, for about 2-5 km to get mobile signal for their online study.


Gara Parli panchayat, which has no road connectivity, is known for its inaccessibility and is often in news as residents of its villages have to carry patients on makeshift stretchers on dangerous routes for 10-20km in order to reach the nearest road to send them to hospital.

The plight of the children studying in Government High School, Majhan, was discovered when a local made a video of their long trek alongside a deep gorge and showed how a handful of children study on a tiny patch of land on top of the hill, where just one wrong step would send them tumbling down.

‘Need a mobile tower more than road’

The video, in which the villagers urged the state government to provide them a mobile tower before thinking of making a provision for a road.

The students leave home for the hilltop early in the morning and return home in the afternoon.

“Nearly 110 students are risking their lives. The students can slip into the deep gorge any time. The government will be responsible if there is any kind of mishap. Not all students have mobile phones. Some students have been given notes by the teachers. At this moment, we need a mobile tower more than a road. Don’t these children have the right to have the facilities that other children have who can study from home? People here are deprived of even basic facilities,” the villager, who shot the video, is heard saying.

Talking to the students studying on the hilltop, the villager says the children cannot come to this place every day after climbing for hours. A student, named Sneha, tells him that she needs a telecom tower in her village so that she can study at home. Another girl tells him that she feels exhausted after climbing up and down the hill daily.

Not just Majhan, but students of Government Primary School Bagishaidi, Mail, Shakti and Government Middle School Lapah are also facing the same problem.

The parents of these students have now demanded a telecommunication tower in the area. Kunj Lal, Jawahar Lal, Nok Singh, Shadi Lal, Teja Singh and many other residents of Majhan village have written letters to highlight their plight.

Tirth Ram, a local, said the state government has failed to provide them with road connectivity but they should at least get a telecom tower. “The government’s ‘Har Ghar Pathshala’ campaign is not working here. Not able to make a phone call from home in present times is a curse. No parent wants to send their children to a dangerous hilltop for study but we have no choice,” he said.

Himachal’s IT minister Ram Lal Markanda said efforts are being made to cover all the villages of the state with mobile connectivity and high-speed internet. “New telecom towers are being installed in remote areas. Matter of mobile connectivity for Gara Parli area will also be taken up with the department,” he said.