Around 200 youngsters had been pressured to journey 50 km on a regular basis to achieve an space with Internet connection to attend on-line courses from their distant coastal villages in Maharashtra after they had been hit first COVID-19 lockdown after which cyclone Nisarga.

Hit by a pandemic after which a pure catastrophe, the youngsters from distant villages in Maharashtra needed to take care of Internet disruptions since early June when connectivity alongside the coastal space of Ratnagiri district turned scratchy.

But when even after a month the state of affairs didn’t enhance, one of many college students lastly reached out to the highest youngster rights physique NCPCR for assist.

The National Commission for Protection Child Rights, in flip, ensured that the connectivity is restored within the quickest attainable method by reaching out to mobile firms and the district Justice of the Peace of the world, NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo mentioned.

In his letter to the district Justice of the Peace of the world, Kanoongo harassed that the authorities should make sure that the difficulty will get resolved on the earliest.

“The commission has taken cognizance of a complaint received regarding poor and disrupted network connectivity along coastal area of Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra, particularly in the area of PIN Code 415714, which was deadly hit by cyclone Nisarg on June 3, 2020 and since then, the residents of area do not have mobile and data connectivity,” Kanoongo mentioned within the letter to the district Justice of the Peace on July 25.

“As a result, around 200 students are facing difficulties in online educational activities due to corona lockdown. Besides, the students are taking pain to travel about 50 km a day to access data connectivity for their online education activities,” he mentioned.

He sought the rapid intervention from the Ratnagiri district Justice of the Peace on the matter.

“I hereby draw the kind attention of DM, Ratnagiri to immediately intervene in the matter, make liaison and issue suitable directions to the concerned cellular service provider to get the Internet connectivity restored at the earliest so that no child becomes victim of undue pressure or stress concerning their education,” Kanoongo wrote within the letter.

Speaking to information company Press Trust of India, Kanoongo mentioned the NCPCR constantly adopted up with the authorities and at last the Internet connection within the space was restored by one of many mobile networks whereas the remainder of them assured that they are going to resolve the difficulty on the earliest.

“We intervened and wrote to the district magistrate and cellular companies and we dealt with it as a policy intervention in which NCPCR has to play a role in helping children. As a result, action was taken on a priority basis and internet connectivity of the village was restored,” he mentioned.

He additional harassed that it is rather necessary to make sure barrier-free Internet facility for the youngsters in these occasions.

“It is very important that if children are dependent upon the Internet for their education then it needs to be ensured that they get barrier-free Internet facility,” he mentioned.

The nationwide lockdown induced by COVID-19 in March prompted colleges and faculties to maneuver to the digital world for instructing and studying actions. But a weak web penetration has turned e-education right into a distant dream for a lot of youngsters within the rural areas.

According to official statistics, there are over 35 crore college students within the nation.