This story is from June 1, 2020

To help a marooned girl take exam, Kerala plies 70-seat boat just for her

In God's own country, a marooned schoolgirl's prayers were answered by a government agency this week when it sent a 70-seater boat on successive days to ferry her from a waterlogged stretch of Alappuzha to Kanjiram in Kottayam district so that she wouldn't miss her Class 11 exams.
To help a marooned girl take exam, Kerala plies 70-seat boat just for her
Sandra Babu paid Rs 18 for each round trip on Friday and Saturday
ALAPPUZA: On Friday and Saturday, a 70-seat Kerala state water transport department (SWTD) boat with just one passenger made the round trip from MN Block in Alappuzha district to Kanjiram in Kottayam district so that Sandra Babu could write her Plus One exams.
Passenger boats in the scenic Kuttanad area, which is situated below sea-level and is an official Ramsar Site (under the international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands), were suspended ever since the lockdown began, and when fresh dates for the deferred HSC exams were announced, Sandra, whose parents are daily wage workers, was at first sure she would miss them.

“I thought I would miss the examinations as I didn’t have any means to reach my school. But then, I contacted the SWTD office and informed them of my plight. They understood my situation and promised to send a boat. I am really proud of SWTD and I don’t know how to share my happiness,” Sandra gushed.
Despite the lone passenger, the boat had its full complement of crew – the driver, a srank (navigator), a boat master and two lascars (for assisting the master in mooring). On both days, the boat picked up 17-year-old Sandra from a jetty close to her home at sharp 11.30am and plied all the way to Kanjiram, dropping her at the jetty in front of SNDP Higher Secondary School at around 12 noon.
Water transport dept’s gesture earns goodwill
The boat waited for her till she finished her exam and then dropped her back around 4pm. Officials at SWTD were perhaps unaware of a famous Japanese precedent, when a remote railway station was kept open for three years to pick up just one passenger — a schoolgirl — so that she could go to school get to class, but their heart-warming gesture towards Sandra has earned them widespread goodwill.

Shaji V Nair, SWTD’s director, said the officials didn’t think twice when Sandra sought their help. “My daughter too is a Plus One student. The government as well as our minister gave their full support for operating the service. We sent our boat with five crew members, only for her to ferry her from her home to the school and back,” he said.
Santhosh Kumar K A, Alappuzha unit officer of the department, said hiring a country boat fitted with a boat engine would have costed at least Rs 4,000 for a single trip. Sandra was charged only Rs 18 for the journey, with a oneway ticket costing Rs 9.
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