Govt school teacher falls into Ganga on way to duty on boat, feared drowned

A government school teacher in Bihar was swept away by strong currents in Ganga on Friday morning after he fell into the river while trying to board a boat on way to his school located in a riverine area in Patna district, officials said.

According to police, Avinash Kumar (25), a teacher at the higher secondary school at Chhota Kasimchak, a riverine area, was boarding the boat at Nasriganj Ghat under Danapur police station limits around 8.30 am when the incident took place.

His colleague Pallavi Kumari told reporters they used to go to the school on a boat. “Avinash, a resident of Fatuah in Patna, used to come to Nasriganj Ghat on his bike. After loading his bike on the boat, he was boarding when another boat hit his boat from behind. Avinash fell into the river and was swept away by currents,” she said.

“We shouted for help and threw the rescue rope, but couldn’t save him. All boatmen ran away from the spot even though they knew how to swim. Avinash did not know how to swim. He had joined as a teacher on November 18, 2023,” she said.

Till the time of filing of report, the body of the teacher was yet to be traced by rescue teams sent by the district administration.

Puroshtam Kumar, another teacher who used to travel by the same boat, said, “We had informed block-level officials of the education department about high level of water in Ganga and requested to close the schools in the diara (riverine) area, but no action has been taken in this regard,” he said, adding that it usually took 20-25 minutes on a boat to cross the river, which has turned scary.  

Subdivisional officer (Danpur), Pradeep Singh, said the search operations were still underway to trace the missing teacher. 

Following protests by teachers over the incident, education department secretary Baidyanath Yadav issued a letter to all the district magistrates on Friday evening, regarding dos and don’ts for the journey of teachers from flood-affected areas. He has also relaxed the norms for teachers arriving late due to any specific reason.

“Delayed attendance up to an hour will be permissible,” he said.

Acknowledging the problems faced by teachers and staff in their journey to schools in flood-prone areas due to a number of factors, including non-availability of boats, he has written that government boats be made available for the teachers, staff and students with adequate life jackets.

“The district administration will purchase life jackets and make them available for all passengers on the boat. Divers should also deployed at vulnerable pockets. The timing of the plying of boats should be synchronised with the school timings so that teachers and students could timely board them to reach schools and back home,” says the letter, which has been seen by HT.

As per the letter, if the disaster management department does not meet the expenses incurred on it, it would be done through the district education officers. “For August and September, required allocation can be sought from the department,” the letter says.