With handwritten letters, a Kerala school forced HC judges to take note of broken bridges

In the first week of October, 26 judges of the Kerala High Court, including the Chief Justice, received a letter each. The handwritten letters came from Mlamala in Vandiperiyar, a small village about 12 kilometres away from Mullaperiyar dam in Idukki district of Kerala.

The letters were written by the students of Fathima High School in Mlamala. Children from 26 divisions of all classes wrote a six-page letter to each judge, detailing their struggle to reach their school. They do not have proper road connectivity to either reach school or the world outside their village, they wrote. Tired of seeking help from their local leaders, these children, finally, had to turn to the High Court.

Taking note of the plight of the students, the High Court intervened, and on the directive of acting Chief Justice Abdul Raheem, Idukki District sub-judge Dinesh Pilla paid a visit to the school on Monday and studied their problems. Following this, Justice Dinesh Pilla told the school authorities that there will be an Adalat (court) on November 29, which will be presided over by a High Court judge.

According to Joseph John, the headmaster of the school, two bridges — Nooradipalam and Santhpalam (or Moonkalar palam) — connect the village with the main land. However, during the floods in 2018 and 2019, both the bridges were majorly affected.

While three-fourths of the Nooradipalam was destroyed in the 2019 floods, Santhpalam was completely destroyed in the 2018 floods.

Lightweight vehicles can pass through Nooradipalam, but Santhipalam is fully destroyed and so, locals have paved the path with concrete pillars and makeshift bamboo ladders to enable people to cross over.

Apart from the letters, the students have also created videos explaining their plight when it comes to commuting to school. 

Two bridges connecting the village to outer world have been ruined, which turns the Mlamala in to an abandoned island,claims the students #idukki #vandiperiyar #keralafloods pic.twitter.com/TmcUEgqWI6

— Haritha John (@HarithaJohn1) November 19, 2019

Poor development in the village, these children sent handwritten letters to HC pic.twitter.com/D88ItxJaG1

— Haritha John (@HarithaJohn1) November 20, 2019

“Students now have to cross through the remains of these broken bridges. School vans cannot use the bridges. Older people and small children struggle to walk through Santhipalam. How long we can bear this apathy? We were tired of giving petitions to local leaders and the District Collector. That’s how we decided to write letters to High Court judges,” the headmaster told TNM.

In addition to Fathima High School, which has about 900 students, there are two other primary schools in the area, where about 600 students study. All face similar problems. “It is not just the students, but every person who has to travel outside the village faces these issues,” said the headmaster.

In the letters, students have also mentioned that most of the roads in their village have been destroyed in the floods and are yet to be restored. “There are only very few jeeps that offer shuttle services to and from the village. People have to depend on them to travel. Children who come by school bus get down on one side of the Nooradipalam, walk through the broken bridge and get into another school vehicle,” Joseph John says.It is not just the road connectivity that has been affecting them, say the students. In the letter, they speak about two of their schoolmates who are ill. “One student has been detected with a severe protein deficiency disease, while another one is a cancer patient. Children with illnesses struggle to access areas beyond the village for their treatment,” they wrote.

In the letter, the students also attributed the illness among children to the indiscriminate use of pesticides in the tea plantations at their village.

“Many developmental issues and illness were reported by children in these areas. We need authorities to look into these issues as well,” the headmaster said.

He also added that the district sub-judge has learnt of their problems and realised their magnitude. “He has interacted with students and the residents here. He has assured us that a proper report will be submitted to the HC.”